Zankme.com Launch - Helping Musicians to Easily Connect with Fans

San Diego, CA – February 19, 2013 – Zankme com, is putting a new spin on download cards with a simple way to help musicians connect with their fans. Zankme allows musicians to upload music, videos, photos or other digital media and immediately print custom download cards that can be sold or offered as promotional giveaways. Fans redeem the cards, and artists learn an array of information about their listeners including their email address and location.

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25 Social Media Resources For Musicians

Social Media Resources For Musicians - At this point in time our society at large must have the “news” the instant it happens. With the evolution of social media this instant gratification is not only possible but prevalent. There are several forums available to the consumer at large the choice is all based on your wants, needs and who you are trying to reach.

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Ditching the Record Label Approach: Alternative Ways to Be Successful in the Music Industry

Aspiring music artists have a plethora of opportunities to be “discovered” in today’s YouTube-driven industry. Previously, an artist had to be discovered and signed to a record label to gain access to the music market. Even after signing a record deal, artists were left at the mercy of the traditional media to become noticed, which was prohibitively expensive.

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4 Reasons Why Your Band Needs To Blog

If you have a website, but you are not actively maintaining a blog…

You are seriously killing your marketing game.

Let’s dive in.

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Moupp, The First Mobile Fan App for Bands and Artists

The first ever mobile app for bands & artists to market and promote themselves. The app alerts fans to notify them of their favorite bands at the right time and right place. Bands increase their fan base, expand their reach and increase earnings.

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Amplage: 0.8 Push Your Music 3/4: Magazines & Print Media

Magazines & Print Media This will play a very important role in any publicity campaign for and up and coming release. Even though many people think that people are consuming a lot of information from the internet print media still plays a very VERY important role in the agregation of information to the public. Having a solid unique press kit and professionally getting in contact with journalists, writers & editors of local, niche music and larger print media will start you off well

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Music Marketing 2.0: Bethel Music Leverages Affiliate Links to Boost Revenue

Musical group Bethel Music now earns additional revenue on top of music sales by promoting its newest album–For the Sake of the World–through refer.ly iTunes affiliate links, giving them more resources to make the music that they and their fans love.

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Are Musicians Using "All" Of Their Creative Talents When Promoting And Marketing?

I was looking at a new Comic Book released by a Major artist the other day,
and started asking myself the question…

Why do so many independent artists limit their online promotional
activities to spamming Facebook and peoples email addresses with links
and postings that simply say: “hey check out my new track!”

Is that really the boundary of their creative marketing ideas?

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Pitching Your Band

If you were presented with the opportunity to pitch your band directly to the Chief A&R representative for Capital Records, what would you say? If there was a venture capitalist looking to invest into the dreams of one band, how would you convince them to choose you? If your favorite band was in town and looking for an opener, what would you tell the promoter about your act?

Being able to pitch your band is one of the most important steps in being able to book shows, secure sponsorships, get a booking agent/manager, receive press, and even to getting on a label. It’s also one of the areas that I see independent musicians struggling with the most. Even though I have a disclaimer on LastStopBooking.com that we are not accepting submissions, I still receive about 50-100 EPK submissions and query letters per week. 90% of these sound the same: the band describes themselves as having “great music,” and they almost always say they are different than other artists because they are “hardworking.”

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Music Without Labels Seeking Submissions for New Web Series!

Hello Everyone!

I am the spokesperson for Music Without Labels & Beat-Play LLC.  MWL is an umbrella for many music projects, ideas and conversation. The MWL Live just wrapped up a on a 15,000 mile cross-country video tour covering the hottest summer musicians and artists across the country. We featured several great bands such as Portugal. The Man, Datsik, The Lonely Forest, Yann Tiersen, Carina Round, Vintage Trouble, Dry the River, Washed Out, Gardens & Villa, Fun. and many more! Check out the MWL Live Tour 2012 videos here. 

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When Running A Record Label, Don’t Forget To Budget For Recoveries

Nothing is more fulfilling than opening your record label, getting your artist in the studio, laying down some tracks and mastering your final project. You’ve gotten investors involved who really believe in your project as much as you do and they’re putting a significant amount of money behind your company for both production and marketing. The only uncomfortable part about the whole process is that they have accountants, business managers and financial gurus working for them behind the scenes and they need you to put together a budget

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Practice Makes Perfect, But Promotion Makes Success In The Music Business

One of the most advantageous relationships an artist or band can have is with a promoter. At the local level, there seems to be a mystery as to what exactly the promoter does. “Does the promoter promote? Shouldn’t the promoter be responsible for bringing all the people if I’m putting everything into the music end?” These questions resemble those I hear from local artists on a semi-frequent basis. While that logic may seem like it makes a lot of sense, it can ultimately hurt the artist in the long run.

To answer the question; yes the promoter promotes. However, the promotional push varies at different levels based on the expected effectiveness. For example, a large national act or regional touring band has a recognizable name. If I’m promoting a show with a headlining act with a solid fan base, investing in print ads, radio spots, and other means of advertising may make a lot of sense. The average concertgoer will see that name and make it a point to go to that show. The context of the promotional push is much less important at this level. Whether you see a facebook post from your favorite band or a flyer at your bus stop, you’re going to that show regardless of how you found out about it.

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New music promotion and competition website

This article covers the new music promotion platform Beat 100 and how you can use it to help your music promotion efforts. Beat 100 is a new social music networking website with a monthly music competition and great opportunities for music exposure.

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Music Without Labels Live Tour 2012

At Music Without Labels & Beat-Play we know you want, and deserve, exclusive coverage of all of the best summer festivals and concerts; which is why MWL Live is embarking on journey across the United States! MWL spokesperson, Katie McVeay, and leading videographer, Shane Suski, are crossing state lines to showcase musical acts at festivals, small town concerts and everywhere in between, providing up-to-date photos, video interviews, and giving you the opportunity to interact with today’s top artists and musicians.

During Shane’s first year with MWL, he has had the opportunity to photograph over 75 artists including big names like Immortal Technique, GZA, Bela Fleck & The Flecktones, Young the Giant, and more! Katie McVeay started her MWL work in NYC where she interviewed numerous up-and-coming bands such as Caged Animals, Dustin Wong, The Beets and Canon Logic. In February, Katie relocated to MWL Headquarters in San Diego and has had the chance to interview talented acts such as Puscifer, Lost in the Trees, Rachael Yamagata, Talkdemonic and many more!

MWL Live will be traveling approximately 11,000 miles in 108 days featuring popular musicians at Sasquatch, Free Press, Bonnaroo, Electric Forest, Lollapalooza, Bumbershoot Music Festival and everywhere in between! We also know that not all of your favorite musicians are located near hub cities where their music can be properly showcased, reviewed or featured. Are you one of these artists? Do you know a great band in your location? We are reaching out to artists and fans! We want to visit you during the MWL Live Tour!

A trip like this takes funding! How much? $10,000! Right now we have $5,749 towards the project, but it’s not enough! Our Kickstarter goal of $6,000 helps cover the (high) price of gas, food, accommodations, tolls, festival fees, equipment and other expenses that we need to make the MWL Live Tour 2012 a reality!

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