Hey YouTube! 750 indies have signed the Fair Digital Deals Declaration

The 32 pages long YouTube horror story

Some time ago I happened to read the long, horrible contract that YouTube asked indie labels to sign for launching their new premium streaming service. A copy of the leaked contract is here but I guess you won’t go far: their legal patois is unintelligible to a normal human being.

The contract is not only horrible to read: it is also greatly unfair toward indies. So indies promptly replied by taking off content from YouTube (Adele was said to be missing although I was much more concerned about XX and Anna Calvi).

Indies’ next bold move

Now it seems that indies have taken another move toward the Cupertino’s giant: more than 750 of them have signed the Fair Digital Deals Declaration (and notwithstanding the longish hashtag #fairdigitaldeal4artists, they quickly created a buzz on twitter), an initiative launched by the WIN- Worldwide independent network, that represents the interests of independent labels.

Click to read more ...

8 Ways To Keep Up With and Discover New Music Releases

Have you ever felt like you were no longer in the loop when it comes to new music? “Have you heard Beyonce’s new song?!” “Did you get tickets for that gig?” “It went to number 1!”. None of us like to feel left out when it comes to the hottest new songs, the latest summer smash, or that killer album everybody’s talking about.

Here are a number of methods to stay up to date with the best music and most anticipated releases.  

1. Social media
Following your favourite artists and bands on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook will ensure that you are constantly in the know about what’s out and what’s coming next. Artists promote themselves and their music this way as it’s the easiest outlet to connect with their fans.  

Click to read more ...

Why Music Licensing and YouTube Are Officially Frenemies

Why Music Licensing and YouTube Are Officially Frenemies

Yes, Music Dealers knows that today’s music licensor has enough to watch out for: publishing, legal, creative, budgeting, etc., etc. But, to ensure you keep yourself covered, and are avoiding a daily regimen of banging your head on your desk while muttering curse words under your breath, we’ll be adding one more item to your music licensing watch list.

A dilemma is beginning to emerge for music licensors who post content to the largest video sharing site on earth, YouTube. A system designed to help compensate artists is beginning to piss off music licensors.

It’s becoming like that one friend who is pretty cool most of the time, but you sometimes secretly hate—the frenemy.

The Story

In a frenzy, a long-time client of Music Dealers called up one of our directors of business development. She expressed great concern about whether or not Music Dealers or its artists had any intention of monetizing content posted on YouTube through paid advertising.

Click to read more ...

5 Social Media Secrets for Indie Musicians

Today, social media is the cornerstone of your music career. It’s what lets you stay in touch with your fans and easily notify them with exciting news. With all the social media guides out there, you’d think no one remembers one of the key behavioral aspects to being human - socializing. I know, it’s hard to find a balance between social and promotional - afterall, you still need to sell your show or record. Here’s 10 secrets to help you find that social media balance.

Click to read more ...

Free music search & download with MP3jam

One program to download over 20 million songs – this is what MP3jam’s like. It is a unique app for Windows to search, listen and download music in MP3 format. All downloads are legal and absolutely free – a ‘must-have’ for music fans.

Click to read more ...

Digital Hustle: 3 Ways To Dominate the Internet with Your Music

There is a huge demand for the unsigned artist to learn how to properly get their music to these new outlets. Here are 3 functions DIY need to know: music business management, public relations, & social media management.

Click to read more ...

How Gangnam Style showed us the Social Media value of a Viral Video - an Infographic case study

Safe to say there have been more than a handful of Gangnam Style case studies bouncing around over the past few months. Case studies looking at things like HOW and WHY the video went viral, WHO was behind this freakishly cult phenomena, and WHAT the contributing factors were in driving nearly a billion views.

Click to read more ...

GIVE ME EXPOSURE PLEASE!

I am a young guy.. Trying to make something out of his music, guys please help me I need you.. Positive or negative feed back! Just check out my videos and share them wherever you can, you haven’t got a thing to lose! I’d really appreciate, and add me If you like :) cheers http://youtu.be/IoLySGRYMWo http://youtu.be/IoLySGRYMWo and check out my channe : kayaandmru Ok guys, counting on you, Cheers :)

Click to read more ...

And the award goes to…….

Celebrating the small wins

All artists want to be recognized for their craft/art. And recognition can come in many forms. The main forms of recognition, that artists often go after, generally falls under the categories of awards, high sales, popular media exposure, and other opportunities/offers within the entertainment industry. However, some artists will not get these on large scales.  If you find yourself in the latter scenario then don’t hesitate to celebrate the small wins/recognitions. Since the world isn’t making a big deal about it….YOU should make a big deal about it. Get people involved and get them to care about what you’ve accomplished. Hey you worked hard to earn it….why not brag about it?!?!

Click to read more ...

Is remixing the new X-Factor?

Or Is remixing becoming the new X-Factor? Whatever you want to say about them, tv shows like the X-Factor, Britain’s Got Talent, America’s Got Talent, etc., are becoming the major way for kids to become pop stars. The temptation to audition for one of those shows is often too much for the budding singer, girl band, boy band, or guitarist, and when they finally reach the live shows, there’s the chance to get free publicity, exposure, critique of their style and ability. Even if they don’t make it all the way to the final, there’s always the chance of being signed by a record company, however well they can sing.

Click to read more ...

Has Facebook grown too big for itself?

Has Facebook grown to big for itself & actually listen to the voice of its users?

Click to read more ...

Crowdsourcing Live Music

Switchcam, a new music startup, is algorithmically “reconstructing” concerts from fan footage.  Switchcam has created software that takes concert videos from YouTube and syncs them together recreating the event.  The syncing is so exact, that viewers are able to switch views and camera angles enabling the viewer to see the concert from different perspectives.  

Click to read more ...

OK Go Goes 3D - An Economic History of OK Go Videos

After appearing at the Dear New Orleans Benefit Concert Tuesday night, DC native and OKGo front-man Damian Kulash was interviewed by NPR’s Neda Ulaby to close out the summit on Wednesday. In an amiable conversation, Damian covered the history of OK Go videos, the embedding controversy, and the split with EMI.

An Economic History of OK Go Music Videos

The band first started choreographing dance moves in preparation for their appearance on a Chicagoland cable access show: Chica-go-go. The show couldn’t handle live performances, but “we didn’t want to lip-sync unless we were really swinging for the fences.”

So they rented some N’Sync and cheerleading videotapes to come up with a dance routine, which they used to end their live shows for a few years. The first video, for “A Million Ways” was filmed in Damian’s backyard, with choreography by his sister, a ballroom dancer. Budget: $5 (plus Starbucks runs).

Click to read more ...

How Indie Musicians Can Get Started With Video

YouTube is huge. We know that. But did you also know that it serves as the number 2 search engine, right behind the king of search and technically their parent company, Google.

That means there are more searches done on YouTube than on Yahoo, Bing, Ask or any other search engine! Do you know what they are looking for?

Much like the personal branding niche tells us to Google ourselves, musicians need to look at YouTub’in themselves. What videos show up? What channels, subscribers, comments and playlists are on the first page of your YouTube results?

Click to read more ...