How easy is it to find your work at xyz?

[dalekay]

We have our work up at least 100 places. How easy is it to find us?
A few hot spots first.

1. CD Baby
They just did a major re-vamp of the site. Theory, it was to make it easier for those to download directly, buy CDs and find music they like. Before it was easy to find us there. Now, if you do not know our name, it's hard to come across our CD or the band.

2. Music Forte
They also just did a major re-vamp of the site. Before it was easy to find us and read about us, buy, download etc, in several languages. Including Japanese.
Now after, we are very hard to find if at all. If you did not have the link or use our name, forget it. Read about us in different languages? nope, I could not find the Japanese page. We paid extra for that a few years back. Hundreds.

3. iTunes
Well, we all heard about it, some call it the Holly Grail of downloads. Finding us is near impossible unless you know our name. The only marketing trick we know to get above the ambient noise is iMix. Using that started the sales at iTunes. Getting others to put us in their iMixes has lead to sales. Doing this on a weekly basis has helped. We also use some exclusive groups to cross promote our work as well as in the different iTunes stores.

4. MySpace
Well, a few well selected searches you can find us. If you did not know our name or much about us, you might never stumble upon us. Forget sales there. I have given several download places a try and all have never paid. Even when fans tell me they bought downloads there. Go figure huh?

All of those places have lead to direct sales and repeat fans. Not bad but after you pay to get in or spend a ton of time there, did it equal out?

What is are your thoughts fellow recording review members? Any experience you wish to share on this?


dale

Inquisitor Betrayer
CD "Space Elevator" Get it at CDBaby | Inquisitor Betrayer | Space Elevator,
Inquisitor Betrayer , Inquisitor Betrayer on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Videos ,
Inquisitor Betrayer | Music Forte
Apple iTunes iTunes Store

Angel's Wings
SoundClick artist: Angel's Wings - Instrumental Rock Christian Rock

Ready to take your music to new levels?
Serious_Musicians@yahoogroups.com

on tw follow ibmuse

[whomper]

who is looking for you ?

never pay to have anybody put you on their web site
only one making money is the web owner
and often they are a scam too

have your own web site
promote the **** out of it

[dalekay]

Originally Posted by whomper

who is looking for you ?

never pay to have anybody put you on their web site
only one making money is the web owner
and often they are a scam too

have your own web site
promote the **** out of it

fans silly ... how else will they find your work?

your right however, to get your CD up for sale at CD Baby, it's $35, then add the bar code plus anything else you might want to give it try.

We do have our own web site.
Since you mentioned it, how would you go about promoting it?

I sort of think you do not follow tag lines?

dale

Inquisitor Betrayer
CD "Space Elevator" Get it at http://cdbaby.com/cd/inquisitorbetrayer,
Inquisitor Betrayer , Inquisitor Betrayer on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Videos ,
Inquisitor Betrayer | Music Forte
Apple iTunes iTunes Store

Angel's Wings
SoundClick artist: Angel's Wings - Instrumental Rock Christian Rock

Ready to take your music to new levels?
Serious_Musicians@yahoogroups.com

on twitter follow ibmuse

[EnSkorSang]

You dont have to pay with an online distributor. they just skim 20-25% off the top.

Why pay to have it in japanese? crack the local scene first then scale up.

Your damn right, its easy to find a band if you know there name. but just putting your music up for sale wont achieve that. Gigs, radio, magazines, shagging nice ladies from the NME/*insert publication here* will.

[whomper]

Originally Posted by dalekay

fans silly ... how else will they find your work?

your right however, to get your CD up for sale at CD Baby, it's $35, then add the bar code plus anything else you might want to give it try.

We do have our own web site.
Since you mentioned it, how would you go about promoting it?

I sort of think you do not follow tag lines?

dale

you need ONE site that you promote
more than one confuses people and hurts sales

you need google to be able to find your site
with your name and any keywords folks would think of

hundreds of sites is wasting your time and effort

nobody wakes up and says
i think i want to buy some music today
let me just go to random site xyz today
and look around to see if i find something

even if they did
what are the chances they would stumble across your band
and say lets buy one of theirs!!

you should have ONE place people look for you
and make it easy to get to

now if you have a place that is making money for you
by all means keep your stuff there
but dont pay anybody more than you make
and dont pay anyone new - offer them a commission on sales only

[EnSkorSang]

Originally Posted by whomper

you need ONE site that you promote
more than one confuses people and hurts sales

you need google to be able to find your site
with your name and any keywords folks would think of

hundreds of sites is wasting your time and effort

nobody wakes up and says
i think i want to buy some music today
let me just go to random site xyz today
and look around to see if i find something

even if they did
what are the chances they would stumble across your band
and say lets buy one of theirs!!

you should have ONE place people look for you
and make it easy to get to

now if you have a place that is making money for you
by all means keep your stuff there
but dont pay anybody more than you make
and dont pay anyone new - offer them a commission on sales only

I think you missing the point. I dont think he is promoting those sites in particular, they are just examples of where his music is available for purchase. If you have have a distribution deal, your music isnt going to end up only on itunes. ITs the same in the high street, when was the last time you saw any band exclusively selling their cd through one shop?

I think you need your music in as many places as possible...people use different websites to buy and listen to music. Most major bands will have at least a .com, myspace and facebook profile. Probably lastfm, bebo and others aswell.

Having said that, I think the internet is usually the place people turn to AFTER they already have a bands name in mind...a friend tells you, you see their concert, read about them or hear them on the radio....a google search is then your next step if you wanna know more, right?

[whomper]

Originally Posted by EnSkorSang

I think you missing the point. I dont think he is promoting those sites in particular, they are just examples of where his music is available for purchase. If you have have a distribution deal, your music isnt going to end up only on itunes. ITs the same in the high street, when was the last time you saw any band exclusively selling their cd through one shop?

I think you need your music in as many places as possible...people use different websites to buy and listen to music. Most major bands will have at least a .com, myspace and facebook profile. Probably lastfm, bebo and others aswell.

Having said that, I think the internet is usually the place people turn to AFTER they already have a bands name in mind...a friend tells you, you see their concert, read about them or hear them on the radio....a google search is then your next step if you wanna know more, right?

I didnt miss the point

the point is that it is easier to be found with one big site that you promote exclusively than to be some flea on the rump of a few hundred sites fighting thousands of competitors to be seen

And if you dont promote those sites you just wont be found except by accident - which is next to zero probability

exactly
those sites were not using the same name the band promoted
so they have to redo the work

post links to anywhere that they can go to buy
if you dont want to sell from your site
but you need ONE site that you PROMOTE
even if otehrs do sell your stuff

you cant promote every store with your cd
you promote your web
and point to stores if people want that info

[EnSkorSang]

Originally Posted by whomper

I didnt miss the point

the point is that it is easier to be found with one big site that you promote exclusively than to be some flea on the rump of a few hundred sites fighting thousands of competitors to be seen

And if you dont promote those sites you just wont be found except by accident - which is next to zero probability

exactly
those sites were not using the same name the band promoted
so they have to redo the work

post links to anywhere that they can go to buy
if you dont want to sell from your site
but you need ONE site that you PROMOTE
even if otehrs do sell your stuff

you cant promote every store with your cd
you promote your web
and point to stores if people want that info

So, all the bands with myspace, facebook, .com, bebo, lastfm etc etc profiles are wrong?

[dalekay]

I am not going to reply with a counter point. So far everyone is right, I do all of the above. I am going to lurk and keep reading the ideas and points. Fresh view from other minds as I have been all over this in the past.

CD Baby for example, yep, it is a distro for us but before they did the change, it was very easy to stumble upon us if you was looking for similar music. Music Forte, the same. Now, we are in so much noise, you would never find us.

Live Performance, not possible. Not in my area unless I want to move which is not going to happen, so I am stuck using the net and any other method I can to get the word out.

Stuff like that (counter points) just does that, it becomes more why not do this or that ... I am going to lurk now, please continue. I am reading, seeing anything new or better ideas.

If I had the thousands to pay someone to PR me, I would already be doing that so it's me that has to do this.

Thanks to everyone who replied.

dale
band web pages
Inquisitor Betrayer
"Space Elevator" Get it at CDBaby | Inquisitor Betrayer | Space Elevator
Inquisitor Betrayer , Inquisitor Betrayer on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Videos , Inquisitor Betrayer | Music Forte and
Angel's Wings Lorraine Kay on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Videos
iTunes iTunes Store

New group for Serious Musicians, Serious_Musicians@yahoogroups.com, for those
who want to spend less time marketing and more time making music

Escuchen a los Inquisitor - Musica para Inteligentes.
Music is nothing if the audience is deaf.

[EnSkorSang]

Why is live not possible? I really dont think anything will happen without live.
Is Cd baby a distribution company or online shop? are you paying them upfront to distribute?

Internet is like the 2nd stage of promotion..like word of mouth...for it to work, some people need to already know your name and be interested. Then they search you, tell their friends etc etc. There are a very small number of chancers who find a band they like by browsing through myspace etc.

If live is out of the question (would like to know why - you are severly limiting yourself), then send copies of your best track to local radio stations, magazines, online radio, newspapers, clubs..