Rockstars, Web 2.0 style!

You’re  a Rockstar, well almost…

Technology, gadgets, internet yadda yadda yadda. I wanna rock! Most musicians spend enough time writing rehearsing and polishing up their material to have any time left for promoting and marketing. The sad truth is unless you’ve got a huge fan base, you cannot make a buzz in the industry without promotion and marketing. My musician buddies have no idea of the internet music-world that exists outside the rehearsal room. They seem to think that your material will magically get radio play and the fans will crawl out of the woodwork.  Thus the need for a quick little marketing primer!

Promoting your band has no real rules. It’s whatever works. The bottom line is to build a buzz. A band website is a good idea, but lots of website visitors really means nothing if you don’t have a product or a show to announce. Although getting a record deal still seems like a quest for the holy grail, the rules of that game have changed as well.

Create a buzz, build a following, sell product, make an impact so that you have a bargaining chip in a record deal. Actually, now, record deals have changed drastically. Think about it like this – if you are selling your own product on itunes, or napster, snocap, or where ever, why do you need a record deal? You obviously have a completed cd. Old school record deals consisted of a sort a loan of types for recording, studio time, producers, engineers, record pressing, and promotion. If you already have the product, all you need is promo and marketing. This really is called a distribution deal. That is what you are after. You cannot compete with the might of the record industry’s distribution network unless you have a lot of money. Their network has been built over several decades and they have the market locked up tight as a drum. You can utilize their resources with a distro deal. Enough about record deals. Back top basics. You need to promote your band, use the power of the internet! Here are some up and coming companies you should really check out;

Youlicense  - The Online Music Licensing Marketplace
YouLicense has developed a platform which enables artists and those seeking musical content to conduct business directly with one another in a safe and secure environment. Their unique search engine and standardized contracts allow for a quick and easy process.

Zooped - Business, Music and Personal Blogging Social Network
With Zooped you can connect with old friends, make new friends and connect with local businesses. Build your own play list up to 15 songs for your profile page, musicians can share up to 10 songs with their fans. Zooped is compatible with any MSRS, customize your profiles easily.

Ripple9 - Mobile Promotion for Musicians
Ripple9's mission is to enable musicians to reach the broadest audience possible, and to be appropriately rewarded. Ripple9 helps you promote your music as effectively as possible in a digital world: get your music in your fans pants, remind fans to come to your gigs, accelerate and manage the growth of your fan list. The service takes advantage of the fact that every one your fans, or fans-to-be has a mobile phone in their pocket , and that they know how to send and receive text and picture messages.

Criticalmetrics - Music Recommendations Across all Media
Every week, artists, DJs, music tv networks, newspapers, magazines, retailers, and bloggers recommend hundreds of their favorite new songs. Critical Metrics keeps track of recommendations and playlists across all media so you can easily find, try, and buy the best new music.

Grooveshark - Discover New Music
Grooveshark is an online service that rewards you for sharing, reviewing, and discovering new music. Get rewarded for sharing your songs and music; Keep all of your current songs and import your own playlists; Discover music and receive personalized recommendations; Sync your library with any player from iPods to iRivers

Bandbuzz.com Get the Buzz on New and unknown Bands
BandBUZZ was developed to enable millions of internet users to discover new, independent music without the intervention of slick marketing reps or data analysts. You won’t find any algorithms here trying to mimic your taste while secretly collecting your preferences to sell to record companies. You won’t be solicited by corporations posing as teenage girls in bikinis who want to be your friend. And, most importantly, as an artist, you retain the rights to your music. BandBUZZ puts the power back in your hands.

ijigg - Discover New Music
If you consider your self as a music artist and would like to expose your creation to the world, you should try iJigg. You'll be able to easily upload your music files and share it with others on the site itself or via emails, blog/site embed and even post it to your facebook account. This great site is not just for artists. It is for every one who like to listen to music and discover good new songs.

snocap - SNOCAP your Tracks
SNOCAP has a vision for the digital music marketplace: to bring more music to more people through more outlets. Through the SNOCAP proprietary Digital Registry, artists and labels are empowered to easily promote and sell their music through digital retailers or through their own unique artist store. In turn, these retailers have a growing inventory, offering more music to more music fans.

projectopus - Supporting Bands, Fans and Local Music Everywhere
Project Opus is an online music community designed to support artists, fans and local music. It is a single point of contact for discovery of new music.

Amie.st - Your Independent Music Fix
destination for buying and selling independent music, a place where fans and artists are in control. Amie Street uses a community based pricing model for selling music: All songs start free and go up in price the more they are purchased. Artists take home 70%, they are not required to sell exclusively on Amie Street, and Amie Street does not take any ownership of their music.