YouTube music video. Courtesy http://www.download-streaming-video.com

I love YouTube. Just about any hankering you have for a video can be found here. But really, I use YouTube a lot to listen to music. A new study by Sysomos confirms that I’m not alone. MarketingProfs breaks it down nicely (this site is worth the free sign up).

Even if you don’t have a promotional music video (or the budget to get one done), indie artists should still put up videos of their music. Your video could be a picture of you/your band with your web site URL. Use your video to respond to other videos in the comments. Send out the video to fans and friends.  Tag it correctly so people who like your type of music can find it. YouTube is where a lot of people go to listen to music. It makes sense to let them find you.

Here’s a fantastic example of an artist who uses YouTube to promote their music… notice the tags, the video responses, and the imagery. See how easy it would be for you to do the same?

Artists who refuse to interact with fans online risk losing record deals. Image courtesy www.kchristieh.com.

I find it amazing that even today some artists think that once they are signed with a label, they no longer have any marketing or business responsibilities. This article from CNet about labels who won’t sign bands who refuse to use social networking to promote themselves  and their music hits home for me.

I’ve worked with artists who think that once they have a publicist or marketer, they don’t have to lift a finger. It doesn’t work that way. If you want to make a living as an artist (as opposed to just writing and singing for your enjoyment in your basement), then you must think of yourself as a business that interacts with its consumers. Social networking has taken different forms throughout the ages, from fan mail to meet and greets, and today the primary method of building relationships with fans is through digital outlets like Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace. Sure, you can have a marketing department or publicist do some of the heavy lifting, but you can’t expect a representative to show up for you on all fronts. Fans want to hear from the artist, not just the PR lackeys.

I interviewed indie singer/songwriter Ingrid Michaelson (whom I love as you may have noticed from my Pandora station!) a few years ago for Electronic Musician Magazine. She used MySpace to help build her career. Today, she and her folk/pop contemporaries like Allie Moss, Bess Rogers, and others are successfully using blogging, Twitter, MySpace and other social media avenues to build a relationship with fans. You can read the article here.

In the end, it’s NOT just about the music. It never has been, despite what some artists think (see the comments in the article). Maintain a healthy balance of time spent marketing yourself and creating music–both are your job. Invest in your fans and building a relationship and dialogue with them. Fans who like your music, and you, are fans that stick around and support you. Just ask Lil Kim.

Download Ingrid's music here

Since I’m so high on Pandora radio, I’ll be sharing my stations with you. Hope you enjoy!

This is my current favorite station based on Ingrid Michaelson, Tori Amos, Rosi Golan, Sara Bareilles, and similar artists. I just can’t get enough of the singer/songwriter vibe.

I cycle through stations I want to listen to on Pandora. Sometimes it’s club music 24/7, other times it’s retro hits. But honestly I’m so stressed lately that this songwriter station just does it for me. It mellows me out while still making me productive. Plus I feel like I’m sitting in a cafe somewhere hearing acoustic gems while drinking hot chocolate… I get a little lost in the music. It’s a refresher from the reality of sitting in my messy home office planning world domination…  err, I mean, my next blog post.

Check it out and let me know what you think!

Image courtesy PCWorld

Digital sales are up and ready to eclipse physical sales. Sounds great, but unfortunately the digital uptick isn’t enough to overcome the overall downward slide in music sales that’s been happening over time. The pool of buyers is shrinking overall. All this according to the IFPI (a London-based record label organization), and and market researchers NPD Group. Internet radio sites like Pandora (which I love btw) encourage music downloads, while ad-supported sites like MySpace and Lala apparently discourage buying (why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?).  You can read the whole article on the LA Times entertainment blog.

What does this mean for indie artists? I think Internet radio sites are a great way to promote music… I’ve been listening to Pandora daily for the past two weeks and have discovered so many amazing artists I’ve never heard of it’s making my head spin.  As far as sites like MySpace where you can listen for free with no prompting to buy… Personally I don’t see it as a huge problem. The MySpace page is an avenue to expose and promote, and has never really been a big sales boon to artists. It’s not meant for that and anyone hoping to sell tons off their MySpace page will probably be disappointed. But the profile is great to give people a snapshot of who you are, and serves as a portal for media and industry types looking for new music or who may want to learn more about you before an interview/review or proceeding with a business deal.

What do you think indie artists can do to encourage downloads and sales?

Courtesy LA Times. Click for the full story

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/02/music-bi-back-to-playing-the-blues.html