It seems the way money flows at a record label is largely a mystery to most artists who haven’t worked in the music industry for an extended period of time. It’s always interesting to lift the veil a bit on an unknown. Let’s take a look at one side of the economics of an indie record label, getting a new release to market. Below is a summary of the actual expenses an indie record label incurred for a new release:

Recording advance: $15,000
Tour support: $2,100
Mastering costs: $934.96
Marketing: $13,433.23
Advertising: $2,067.50
Publicity: $5,153.34
Manufacturing: $16,581.04
Artwork / photos: $200
Misc: $587.71

Total: $56,057.78

Here is an overview of each of the line item in a little more detail:

Recording Advance – The money for the recording advance is used to cover the cost of recording. Including studio rental, mixing, session musicians, sound engineer and producer.

Tour Support – Artists have traditionally sold more overall units when they tour so record labels will often times financially support a tour. Tour support money can help pay some of the expenses of touring such as gas, insurance, hotels, food and supplies.

Mastering – Mastering is a post production process that takes the final mix of the recording, edits minor flaws, adjusts volume and stereo widths, equalizes tracks, etc. It’s usually expected that the person who masters the recording will be different from the person who mixes it so there is typically a separate line item in the budget.

Marketing – The marketing line item is entirely for retail co-op marketing expenses. Co-op marketing dollars are expenses distributors incur from retailers for special product placement, in-store promotions, listening stations or advertising. The amount of co-op marketing dollars the distributor (and ultimately the label) are willing to spend on a new release has a direct correlation to the amount of product the retailer orders.

Advertising – Advertising expenses can include any print, radio and online advertising the record label incurs to promote a new release (outside of retail co-op dollars).

Publicity – It’s fairly common for a record label to hire an independent publicist for a 90 day period to help promote a new release to press, print and online media, bloggers and anyone else who can help influence music fans.

Manufacturing – The manufacturing costs for a CD with jewel case can vary but is still around $1.00 per unit for a distributor or label with measurable volume.

Artwork – The cost of custom creative and / or photos for the release.

Miscellaneous – Just like the name implies this is the catch “everything else” expense category related to a new release. For example, legal fees or video production expenses charged to a new release could end up here.

For this particular release to break even it must generate $70,072.23 in gross sales ($56,057.78 + the 25% fee of sales paid to the distributor ). The typical deductions a distributor takes on sales including return reserves and breakage (to name a few) further impact cash flow on sales back to the record label.

It’s important for artists to fully understand how the basic economics of an indie label work since they will not get paid any royalties from sales until the record label recoups all the expenses incurred in getting the record to market. This is true of both traditional record label agreements and even “50/50” licensing agreements. It is very common for artists to never receive royalties on sales from their record label since many new releases never fully recoup their expenses.

Being signed to a record label is no guarantee of sales success. Artists need to carefully weigh what a record label is going to spend on a new release to determine the level of sales that will be needed to achieve profitability before signing a recording contract. Even though the artist might sell a lower number of units on their own there is a very real chance they can actually earn more money without a record label being involved. 

Most indie record label owners are simply trying to get music they love heard by fans. They aren’t in it for the money. In addition to the above mentioned costs of getting a new release to market they have to cover multiple other expenses such as insurance, rent, payroll, travel and mechanical royalties . Making money as an indie label is no easy task. Needless to say, label owners give it a great deal of consideration before signing a new artist and committing to releasing their music.

It does take a lot of money and resources to get a new release to market. However, real transparency in accounting for these expenses is still largely lacking. Inevitably this leads to conflict between the record label and artist around recoupment of expenses and payment of royalties. Hopefully, as artists better understand the economics of record labels they will be able to make more informed decisions about when it makes sense to sign with a record label and when go it alone.

There has been tremendous excitement over the past few years about the new technologies and services that help artists directly connect with their fans.  I’m personally a huge advocate of this trend and the opportunity it presents for both artists and music fans.

However, I’ve recently noticed just how many artist websites are still lacking the primary thing music fans are interested in today; downloadable music in MP3 format. Some in the music business blame the rise of the MP3 on the demise of the music industry and reject its use. It’s clear today’s music fans have wholeheartedly embraced the format. Ignoring what your consumer clearly wants in a competitive marketplace is extremely perilous. It’s the consumer’s preferences and desires that drive any market.

In a very unscientific test, I selected 10 of my favorite albums that have been released in the last year or so. I then checked the websites of those 10 bands* to see if they had a MP3 download store. Surprisingly only three (Big Head Todd, Kings of Leon and Matthew Ryan) had any MP3’s available for download at all. A quick check of the websites from several popular independent artists in my area found none of them had MP3 downloads available. Unfortunately several of the local artists didn’t even have their own website. 

Competition for the attention of music fans has never been fiercer. Artists now have to spend more time, energy and money than ever before just to get noticed. Spending countless hours emailing and texting fans, building social networks, writing witty / insightful blogs, or creating contests is largely a wasted effort if fans can’t find what they want when they finally do arrive at the artist’s website. Music fans want downloadable music, in MP3 format. If fans don’t quickly find what they are looking for they will simply abandon the artist’s website. Highly motivated fans might check iTunes or LimeWire as an alternative but there is much less value for the artist in the indirect relationship.  

Having the ability to offer MP3 downloads directly from the artist’s website is a great tool for building a direct, long-term relationship with fans. Regularly providing unreleased tracks, alternative versions of songs, live recordings or acoustic tracks will keep fans engaged and coming back for more. Once the artist / fan relationship has been established (with music) blogs, videos and emails can then help deepen the interest level of the fan.

The question of if, when or how much to charge for downloads is a complicated one and there is certainly no “one size fits all” pricing strategy. Personally, I’m always happy to pay for music from artists with which I already have a strong fan relationship and for music from a new artist that has really gotten my attention.

There are numerous, very good, inexpensive solutions that allow artists to easily add a MP3 download store to their existing website including Musicane , Hooka and Easybe. Nimbit provides the ability to sell MP3’s directly from the artist’s website plus tickets, merchandise, CD’s and DVD’s, all integrated into the same storefront. There is also an option to private label the Nimbit storefront for an additional fee.

Every artist should have their own website. For those artists who haven’t yet taken this important step towards building and protecting their brand BandZoogle offers a full feature hosted website solution that includes an MP3 download store. Their most expensive plan is only $19.95 per month.

With all the music marketing information, strategies and tools being pushed at artists today it can be easy to overlook the one thing music fans are most interested in, the music. It’s critical for music fans to easily find what they are really wanting when the visit an artist’s website, downloadable MP3’s. Hopefully as more artists embrace MP3 downloads it will help them to create strong direct to fan relationships and the opportunity to build a long-term, sustainable career.

 

*American Princes , Austin Collins , Bell X1 , Big Head Todd & the Monsters , Black Rebel Motorcycle Club , Drive-By Truckers , Kings of Leon , Matthew Ryan , Silversun Pickups , Tegan & Sara .

Artists no longer have to wait for a record label deal to get their music recorded or distributed. Self releasing one’s own material is now a very viable option. However, if you are self releasing there are a few business items that will need to be tended to before making the music available for streaming or purchase. Please note that this information is for USA based releases.

Determine Songwriter Ownership Percentages

Anyone who contributes lyrics or melodies is technically entitled to an ownership percentage of the song. It’s always best to work out the ownership percentages in each song before making any of the work commercially available. The best way to avoid any misunderstandings or disagreements is to fill out a simple Collaboration Agreement that spells out the authors and ownership percentage of each song in writing. See a sample Collaboration Agreement here: DOC or PDF

Register Your Work with the Copyright Office

The only real way to protect your work is to register it with the US Copyright Office. Artists have been telling each other for years all that’s required to copyright a song is to mail a copy to yourself and keep the date stamp on the envelope as proof of the date the song was written. If you don’t want anyone else to exploit or misuse your work fill out the required paperwork and pay the fees. It’s well worth the effort to protect your songs. To register Musical Compositions fill out Form PA and for Sound Recordings fill out Form SR. There is a lot of helpful information on how to fill out these forms online and even several YouTube videos on the topic. To learn more about music copyright check out our wiki on music publishing.

Obtain a Mechanical License for any Cover Songs

Any cover songs that have been recorded and will be included in the new release must be licensed. A mechanical license can usually be obtained from the Harry Fox Agency . If you plan to manufacture and distribute less than 2,500 copies, HFA now offers an online licensing option called Songfile which can simplify the licensing process. Any reputable CD manufacturer, distributor or online music retailer will require you to have these licenses before they duplicate your recording or offer it for sale.

Order a UPC Code for any CD’s or Vinyl that will be pressed

A UPC Code , commonly referred to as a bar code, uniquely identifies the manufacturer, label, artist, catalog number and format of a particular release. A UPC code must be obtained and attached to the packaging if the release will ever be sold through retailers. UPC codes can be obtained directly from the Uniform Code Council but it can be much easier to just obtain them through the manufacturer or distributor.

Have an ISRC Code Created for Each Track

ISRC or International Standard Recording Codes are unique identifiers or digital footprints for each track on a release and are used by digital retailers to track and report digital sales. ISRC codes are typically either encoded into the recording during the mastering process or on the physical products during manufacturing and can also be provided by distributors. Digital retailers will require that each track has an associated ISRC before they make the track available for purchase or streaming.

Submit the Metadata

Metadata is all the collective information associated with a particular track, release or band, summarized and available in a digital format. Metadata typically includes track titles, track lengths, ISRC codes, album art, genre, band bio’s and publishing information. Digital retailers, MP3 players, computer based media players, radio (online, satellite & terrestrial) and mobile phones all use metadata to provide their users with information about the songs and artists that are playing. It’s very important that the metadata information for any new release be readily available. Not having the track titles of your CD show up when it’s being ripped to a computer certainly gives an amateurish impression. Be sure to register the metadata information with the three primary companies that manage metadata databases for the industry: Gracenote, All Music Guide and Muze. All three companies have different procedures for accepting metadata from directly from artists. Check out each of their websites for details.

Register with SoundExchange

SoundExchange collects and distributes digital performance royalties from satellite, cable and online radio stations on behalf of recording artists and sound recording copyright holders in the United States (the artist typically controls the sound recording copyright when they are self releasing so they will need to register for both ownership parts). Each time a song is played on stations from XM, Sirius, Pandora, Last.fm and the like SoundExchange collects royalties and pays out directly to the recording artists and sound recording copyright holder. Satellite, cable and internet radio continue to grow at a rapid pace and these royalties are an important way artists can actually get paid for their work.

Sign up with a Performing Rights Organization

Performing Rights Organizations collect royalties from terrestrial radio stations, restaurants, bars, TV / cable networks, retailers, online services or any other establishment that plays / streams licensed music heard by the general public. These PRO Royalties are collected by the major performing rights companies ASCAP, BMI or SESAC and paid out to the songwriter or their publishing company. If you are a songwriter be sure to sign up with one of these three organizations. Please note that PRO royalties are paid out on “estimates” instead of actual plays and it’s fairly common for artists without regular airplay to not receive PRO royalties.

Having worked for both venture backed technology companies and record labels I often have friends from one industry attempt to relate to the other by saying something along the lines of “record labels are just like venture capitalists”. It is true both venture firms and record companies invest their time and money into a third party with the intent of making a (large) return on their investment. However, in my experience there are more differences in their traditional approaches to investing than similarities.

Venture capitalists typically understand how important it is for the employees at their investment to have cash to pay their rent and eat. One of the secrets taught in business school is: No payroll = No employees = No company = Lost investment. The traditional record label agreement dictates the artist or band doesn’t get paid any royalties from sales until after the record label has been paid back (or “recouped” in music industry language) from their initial investment in its entirety plus any and all other new release related expenses. Since the advance most non superstar artists receive for a new record is often times just enough to cover the recording costs and they won’t receive royalties from sales for some time (if ever) it’s not uncommon for the lack of income to cause a new band to break up before they have a chance to develop to their potential. It’s doubtful even Google would exist today if their investors demanded to immediately “recoup” their investment and keep every cent earned from ad sales instead of making sure the company had cash to pay their employees and other expenses during their early days.

Venture capitalists don’t demand ownership of the intellectual property the employees of their investments create. With the traditional record label agreement the record label retains ownership of the master recordings the artist or band creates in the studio.

Venture capitalists understand there is more that goes into a successful investment than just a sales and marketing strategy. They are involved with management, product development, legal, staffing in addition to sales & marketing at their portfolio companies. Record labels spend almost all their resources and money singularly focused on their artist’s sales and marketing results and very little on the other aspects of their business. Even the 360° degree deals record labels are now pursuing are really just ways to extend the labels involvement into other sales and marketing related areas of their artists such as licensing, touring and merchandise.

Venture capital firms usually invest in promising new companies along with other venture firms, each firm taking a minority ownership position. Having multiple investors helps spread the risk around and allows for collaboration on making the investment successful. Record labels have traditionally not worked with or collaborated with other labels (outside of their ownership group) on developing new artists.

Venture capitalists are far from perfect and certainly don’t always have the owners or employees of the companies they have invested in best interest at heart when making decisions. But the approach they take gives their investments a much better shot a long-term success than a traditional record label deal.

Some artists, like some startup companies, do need an investor and team of professionals to help them succeed. Hopefully as the music industry continues its ongoing transformation new and more equitable models for investing in artists will emerge and Patrons & Champions will give more of them the chance to build long-term, sustainable careers.

 

 

SoundExchange collects royalties from satellite, cable and online radio stations on behalf or recording artists and record labels in the United States. Each time a song is played on stations from XM, Sirius, Pandora, Last.fm and the like Soundexchange collects royalties that are supposed to be paid out directly to recording artists and their record label (regardless of an artist’s “recoupment” balance with their label).

Unlike  PRO Royalties collected from terrestrial radio and paid out based on "estimates" royalties collect by SoundExchange are collected and paid on actual plays. Satellite, cable and internet radio continue to grow at a rapid pace and these royalties are an important way artists can actually get paid for their work.

However, if a recording artist fails to register with SoundExchange they forfeit the royalties due them after three years. According to estimates there are currently over 7,000 artists owed royalties who have not yet registered at SoundExchange and are at risk of forfeiting monies owned them.

P2PNet and Nashville entertainment attorney Fred Willhelms have formed  "Project Unfound Artist" to help find artists that are due royalties but not registered at SoundExchange. This project utilizes a crowd sourcing approach to identifying and notifying artists on the SoundExchange unregistered artist list. Check out Project Unfound Artist to learn how you can help get an artist paid.

If you are an artist please register at SoundExchange today!

The rapid growth of Internet radio is undeniable. According to Edison Media Research 33 million Americans listen to a radio station over the Internet during an average week and AccuStream iMedia Research reports that online radio music generated 4.85 billion total listening hours in 2007, up 26.1% over 2006. I personally listen to Internet radio at least 12 hours a day and find it a very powerful tool for discovering new artists.

Radio airplay has been used as one of the primary ways to promote an artist and their music since the beginning of the industry. Record labels developed large radio promotions departments and / or hired independent radio promoters to develop relationships with influential Program Directors securing airplay for their artists. Independent artists have long been all but locked out of terrestrial radio airplay and its promotional benefits. The ongoing shrinkage of niche stations, specialty shows and local decision making for programming have further reduced opportunities for artists who fall outside the mainstream or don’t have the support of a major label.

Internet radio now provides independent artists with unprecedented access to a large and growing audience and promotional opportunities that had only been available to label backed artists. Many of the leading Internet radio stations accept submissions directly from artists so there is no need to incur the cost of hiring a radio promotions person or firm to work a new release to Internet radio stations.

While some stations offer centrally programmed channels many Internet radio stations allow their users to create custom radio stations based on their preferences. Some of the more popular Internet radio stations have developed powerful recommendation engines that, with the help of the listener community ratings, assist their users in discovering new music. With Internet radio the programming power largely resides with the user community instead of a Program Director. Social networking components on some sites allow members to build profiles, add friends, share favorites and discover new music through friend recommendations and by joining groups. The social networking aspect of Internet radio also provides artists a great way to connect directly with their fans by sharing their favorite music, building their own stations or adding unreleased tracks.

Musicians in niche genres (say zydeco or death metal) who have traditionally had the least opportunity with radio now have a great opportunity to be heard by fans of their specific genre. With Internet radio fans of unique or niche genres can easily search groups, genre lists or stations and artist tags to find and discover new artists. Suddenly being in a niche genre becomes an advantage since it’s much easier for that artist to be found or standout than it is for their contemporaries in much more crowded genres like pop or country music.

Internet radio is a very powerful promotional tool but it can also help artists actually make money from their music as well. Several of the Internet radio stations feature a “buy” button next to the track while it’s playing. The button links to a digital retailer like iTunes or Amazon. Providing music fans the option of immediately buying the track they really like is an opportunity many (myself included) have a hard time passing up.

Additionally, much like songwriters and publishers can get paid through ASCAP, BMI or SESAC for airplay on terrestrial radio, Soundexchange pays royalties directly to performing artists (and copyright holders) for tracks streamed on Internet Radio. The royalty payments for Internet radio are based on actual plays or streams and not estimates like terrestrial radio royalties. Artists and sound recording copyright holders must register with Soundexchange to receive payment. Millions of dollars in royalties from digital music services have been collected but not yet paid out simply due to the lack of a mailing address for many artists. If you are a recording artist and / or copyright holder please register at Soundexchange today!

There are an untold number of Internet radio options currently available. Below are a few worth checking out who have a large listener / user base and accept submission directly from independent artists. If there are other stations we should add to this list please let us know.

AOL Radio:Mail Submissions To

AOL Radio
Pete Schiecke
770 Broadway 4th Floor
New York, NY 10003 USA

Last.FM: Artists can build their own profile page and directly upload their music

Pandora: Mail Submissions To

Music Genome Project Submissions
360 22nd St. Suite 440
Oakland, CA, 94612 USA

Yahoo / Launchcast: Mail Submissions To

Yahoo Music
Gina Juliano
2450 Broadway Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90404 USA

 

 

 

Many new bands record a song or two and add a lot of friends on MySpace then wait desperately for a record company to swoop in to handle all the marketing, publicity, new media and radio promotions that it takes to build a fan base and launch their career. The same misguided thought process regularly takes place when it comes to booking agents, attorneys and managers. New bands often spend a tremendous amount of time, energy and money to find a “team” only to be disappointed when they get no takers.

The reality is, this process almost always works in reverse. The most sought after artists and bands are the ones who have built their own fan base, booked their own tours and managed themselves for an extended period of time. Consider how the business opportunity of working with your band looks from the other side of the table. What is a safer bet for a record label in a really tough environment, investing a lot of time, money and effort to expand the success of proven band with a built in fan base or building a fan base from virtually scratch for a new band very few people have ever paid money to see or hear? Would a booking agent be able to cover their expenses on 10% of the shows you booked last month or a manager on 15% of the income your band earned last month?

Building and expanding a fan base yourself is the most important thing you can do to build a sustainable career and attract the attention of the music biz folks.

Beware – It is very hard to get noticed in the extremely crowded field of artists vying for attention of music fans today. It can be done, but understand this is a long-term process that requires a “build one fan at a time” approach, a lot of hard work, persistence and determination.

To build a fan base focus on these items first:

• Playing live shows is one of the best ways to showcase your talent and build a fan base. You might only play in front of a couple of people at first. Stick with it and there should be more people the next time and the next if what you are playing is of high quality and appeals to the fans at the venue where you are playing. A packed venue is the most powerful publicity a band can have.

• Increase your knowledge and use of the many tools now available for artists to reach fans through distribution, licensing, Internet radio, and more. MySpace is not enough. Check out our Resource Directory and set up a RSS feed from New Music Ideas for starters. Talk to successful bands in your area and find out what tools are and aren’t working for them. Keep up with the latest trends and tools but don’t try and do it all. Prioritize what is manageable and only stick with what actually produces results for you.

• Build and follow a marketing plan for developing and maintaining a personal relationship with your fans. Giving thought to how and what you communicate with fans through your website, blog, or newsletter will help with follow through and getting it done on a regular basis. Developing creative ways to provide fans with extra value out of a direct relationship can pay huge loyalty dividends.

You will know you’re on the right path when record labels, managers and booking agents start calling. Once you’ve done the hard work necessary to build a fan base and are presented with a couple of recording contracts you just might decide your career is better off without involving a record label involved after all.

Developing a loyal group of fans who support you is the best way to build and sustain a career in music. It also gives you a lot more career options, including the one to say “no thanks, I like making all my own decisions” when the music biz folks do come calling.

 

 

 

Have you ever found a band (or several) you were convinced would become a success or even destined to be one of the most popular band on the planet if only other music fans knew they existed? Isn’t it always completely baffling when a band you love doesn’t catch on despite their outstanding talent, songwriting and live shows?

This happened to me many times during my tenure at Yep Roc Records while working with such a great artist roster. In 2004 we had a new release from a band called The Comas I was convinced would be one of the best selling indie rock releases of the year. The Comas are a very talented band and Conductor , based on singer Andy’s Herrod’s breakup with Dawson’s Creek star Michelle Williams , was a great release. Additionally, director Brent Bonacorso created an amazing full length video based on the album that was included as a DVD in the CD’s packaging.

I thought once we executed the publicity plan, music fans of the world would have a new favorite band and Conductor would be sitting at the top of the indie charts.

The label committed fully to this release with new media, publicity, radio promotions, and retail marketing to build awareness; plus, provided a tour support budget to get the band on the road. The band and release were embraced by the media, a few of the successes included:

• An 8 (out of 10) rating from indie tastemaker Pitchfork Media

• Named to Rolling Stone Magazine’s 2004 “Top 10 Bands You Haven’t Heard of"

• Magnet Magazine’s # 3 record of 2004

• Multiple songs added into the rotation at KEXP plus a featured interview and in studio performance

• Yahoo Music “One to Watch” selection that included an in studio performance and interview plus a full day feature on theYahoo.com homepage

Conductor sold just over 5000 total units despite strong media coverage and all the other things the band and release had going for them. The Comas moved to Vagrant Records for their next release in hopes of finding greater success. Unfortunately their 2007 release Spells sold even fewer units than Conductor.

How could a great band with a great release and full backing from their label and distributor not be more successful? The harsh reality of this business is that many bands simply don’t catch on with music fans or become a commercial success.

I have come to the realization over the years that there is some type of unseen “X” factor at work for bands that become successful. Some bands hit, some bands don’t and it’s not always clear why. Ask any experienced musician or industry professional and they will most likely tell you the same thing. I’ve taken to calling this “X” factor magic pixie dust since it’s not easily defined and quite elusive. Magic pixie dust isn’t available from a different publicist or found at the newest online music website to be sure.

How do you go about finding this magic pixie dust? No one knows for sure, but I’m of the opinion that it has to find you. The only way to put yourself in a position to be found is to work hard at your craft, play as many live shows as possible, build up your fan base and simply persevere through all the challenges you face every day as an artist pursuing your passion. You never know when a little magic pixie dust might come your way.

If you’re a musician working to build a career in the music business hopefully you have already covered the basics like getting your own website, setting up a MySpace page and signing up for distribution through a company like CD Baby or TuneCore.

There are numerous solutions now available for marketing music at a minimal cost but keep in mind that none of them can offer a magic bullet for success in the music business. Below are a few categories and companies worth considering when you sit down to develop your music marketing plan.

Radio

Online radio is growing quickly in popularity among music fans as many of the providers have greatly improved their music recommendation technology and added social networking options to help their members discover new music. Here are two popular online radio providers that accept submissions directly from artists, have a large base of listeners and feature links that allow fans to buy the music they are enjoying.

Pandora – Accepts artist submissions only via mail but it’s definitely worth the effort. They only add songs into rotation that meet their quality standards. Their address is: Music Genome Project Submissions, 360 22^nd St. Suite 440 Oakland, CA, 94612. Cost: $2.50 (for postage)

Last.FM – Artists can directly upload their music to the site, create an artist page, join genre based groups, add friends and build their own station. Cost: $0

Licensing

Licensing music for television, films, video games or advertising has emerged as one of the best ways for independent artists to actually get paid for their work plus gain exposure from a wide audience. If you control the rights to your music, a non-exclusive agreement can be signed that typically pays 50% of the licensing fees collected. Two of the leading licensing companies that accept submissions directly from artists are:

Rumblefish – Rumblefish features an online music licensing store that makes it easy for buyers to search and purchase licenses directly from their catalog of available music. They also allow artists to keep 100% of their PRO royalties Cost: $0

PumpAudio – PumpAudio was recently acquired by Getty Images and is now able to offer Getty’s existing customers access to their music licensing catalog. Cost: $0

Gigs

Playing live shows is one of the most important things an artist can do to build a fan base and create momentum for their career. Of course it’s very difficult to get booked if you are not widely known, regardless of your talent level. A couple of online tools that can help artists improve their chances of getting booked are:

Sonicbids – Sonicbids allows artists to create an electronic press kit (EPK) that can be submitted via email instead of mailing costly and environmentally unfriendly traditional press kits. They also feature a list of promoters and gig openings where artists can submit their EPK for consideration. Cost: $49.95 annually.

Eventful – Eventful is a leading provider of local community events calendars where artists can upload their tour dates. Their unique approach allows fans to create demand for a specific artist to play in their town. Artists can use demand information to help them plan a successful tour. Cost: $0

Mobile

Many music fans now spend more time on their mobile device than their PC: It only makes sense to develop a mobile strategy for promoting your music. Mobile marketing solutions can include text messaging, ringtones, ringbacks, full track downloads, wallpaper and mobile fan clubs. Two solution providers that make it easy for artists to start marketing their music through mobile devices are:

Broadtexter – Broadtexter lets independent artists easily create mobile fan clubs plus text fans with artist news and regionally based tour date alerts. Costs: $0

MyxerTones - MyxerTones allows artists to create mobile phone ringtones and wallpapers that can be bought directly from a mobile device or the artist’s website. Artists can set their own prices and keep 60% of the revenue collected for their content. Costs: $0

Awareness

Building a strong fan base is the key component to a successful career but simply finding a way to get noticed by fans can be quite challenging. There are a lot of great options for promoting your music on the web and here are a few you should definitely consider:

OurStage – OurStage features a monthly competition where fans use a voting system to determine the best song and video by genre then select an overall winner. There are several monthly prizes, including a $5000 grand prize. Fans of your specific genre will get exposed to your music and even have the option of purchasing it. Cost: $0

Artist Data Systems – ADS can automatically synchronize an artist’s information, news and tour dates across several social networks and music related sites. This allows an artist to expand the number of places where fans can discover their music without the hassle of individually managing the same information on multiple sites. Cost: $0