One great way to get the word out about your playing and your music is none other than youtube. I"ve kept a youtube channel for a few years now and have have more than one million views and have met wads of great players all over the world.
In particular, GERMANY! I LOVE Germany! More than half my views are from Germany! 600,000! Here is a graphic showing the views from the "insight" portion of youtube that allows you to visualize all the data related to your account.
If you don't have a youtube acccount, START ONE! I have gotten THREE ENDORSEMENT DEALS JUST FROM MY VIEWS ON YOUTUBE! It's a great way to get noticed!
Todd
One thing to remember, and it saddens me how much this happens, is not to neglect your youtube account. Most folks here do have them, along with myspace, facebook, twitter, etc, but they end up just uploading a video and ignoring it.
I can't stress enough how much more activity you'll get if you interact (even just a little) with your fans. Look at the folks out there who have become "internet famous" and you'll see they all maintain the perception --real or not-- that their fans matter to them. After that, go look at shreddy guitarists. There's maybe one or two out there who will even bother to respond to their fans.
Your fans will do half of your marketing for you if they think that you might recognize them or speak to them in return.
Very well said! I make sure to respond to every comment, every question, every friend request on youtube as well as twitter and facebook. It's critical. Music is a social thing and social networks are a great way to meet new musicians!
Todd
Never thought about it that way...I usually deactivate the comment and rating option on my videos...maybe I shouldn't do that. Do you think the choice of how to name a video is important, too?
Hey Todd, I am amongst those german viewers! Seems like my countrymen spend most of their internet time surfing youtube...plus your style of music is kinda popular in Germany!
Just having a YouTube account isn't going to help. I hardly get 100 views on mine. I noticed it goes beyond that if I post to GMC..
So, what other ways are there to increase views and get noticed? I think I need to start doing covers of famous songs. That seem increase views to 1000s as I have seen on some of the channels.
One thing that has worked for me is to play something not very common from a well-known player (In my case, Serrana by Jason Becker). And then, all the rest of my videos are from my projects or stuff of mine. It's like a presentation letter
1.2 MILLION VIEWS! 3,000 SUBSCRIBERS! HERE'S HOW
Getting your videos watched is of course crucuial. I"ve made it to 1.2 million views and 3,000 subscribers so far using some pretty simple rules.
ANBODY can do this. Just look at our main man Kristopher Dahl's youtube page! HUGE views, STELLAR responses. Lead video he is playing behind his head.
http://www.youtube.com/user/KristoferDahl
Simple Rules
#1 - Post videos that encourage repeat views such as good lesson videos with tablature if possible.
#2 - Tag every video using tags that will help people find your vids. Borrow tags from vids that have HUGE views but don't "tag Spam"
#3 - Respond to every question, comment and friend request no matter how long it takes, WARNING: It seems to take forever but it's fun and it's worth it to meet all those great players and students on youtube.
#4 - Find students who you could help and suggest your vids to them.
Pretty simple stuff. I'm a "Youtube partner" now and get to share revenue with the ads that are on my channel. It's also led to several endorsement deals (EMG, Minarik, Fretlight). It's a great way to get yourself heard and seen. Not to mention it's a great way to share your skills with aspiring students and pimp GMC! Go for it!
Todd
Thanks for sharing Todd. I will followsuit. It would be cool to get endorsement deals...
Thanks for sharing! I think I'm gonna tweak my youtube channel today...
PROMOTING YOURSELF / YOUR BAND / YOUR MUSIC!
Social Media - They key to it all.
Another great place on the web to promote yourself and your music is FLICKR.Com. This is the original pioneer of photo sharing sites. Start taking pix of your band, your studio, whatever, and keep posting and sharing! Just another way to share yourmusic and yourselff.
BRANDING YOURSELF AND YOUR MUSIC:
It sounds lame, "branding" as if you are some type of detergent or mouthwash that needs a lable and slogan. It's offensive. However, it's also crucial. You need to develop yourself in to something of a recognizable commodity in the great big world. Even if you are only known to a handful of people.
Your "brand" or "Rep" will get places ahead of you. Good or bad it will tell people things about you ahead of time. For example, if you want to join a band, or get a job, somebody will google you. They will find you on facebook, myspace, etc. and whatever pics and text you have up there will form the basis of their judgements about you even before they know you.
So be careful about what you put up online and who you share information with. It's critical that you put yourself out there enough to be relevant and searchable, but don't put out the wrong message. Don't post pictures of yourself intoxicated or half cloathed or what not. These pix float around forever on the web and can bite you later on. So be careful but be pro active about your online "image", "brand", "rep", etc. Be kind, be professional, don't rage or hate as it always makes you look silly.
Now that we have that covered, here are some things you need to be doing to keep up your "brand".
1.)Facebook Page - Updated regularly
2.)Twitter - Same
3.)Myspace - Same
4.)Youtube - Same
5.)Blog - Same
the good news is you can use www.hootsuite.com to login and post to all your social media for you! You make one post, it goes out everywhere you want it to go and you can determine when! Very handy and FREE!
Take a look at my Signature below, it's got all the links to my social media shiz. Sometimes it can be a pain to update all of this, especially at first when it's only for a few people. But you have to start somewhere. Make it part of your daily routine, just like practice!
Todd
GETTING THE WORD OUT ABOUT YOUR AND YOUR MUSIC! (Efficiently)
Hopefully by now you guys have all created a facebook page, twitter account, etc. and Try to post things regularly to start building base of listeners so that as you create music, join bands, etc. there will be people who want to hear it. It always starts small, so even if it feels like you are writing to three people, keep going. Crowds come after the effort, not before it.
However, posting to all the various social media sites is a PAIN! So I've found a great, free, site that lets you create a post once and distribute it to all of your social media at once! You can even schedule when the post will go live. For example, you've recorded a new track, or demo, or your first CD. You make a post about it that night and want it to go out in the late morning so that folks will have it at the top of their news/twitter/facebook feed. So you create the post, with links to the music and tell hootsuite.com to post it the next day at about 10:30.
The best news is that hootsuite.com is free! They should give me a mug/tshirt/calender for pimping them though. Here is a link to them and a picture of the hootsuite interface.
http://www.hootsuite.com/
Todd
Getting Your Band/Music Project Out there and noticed.
here are some basic things to do first to promote it once you have a band identity (name, logo, artwork, graphics, etc.) and some tunes.
1.)Create a Facebook "Fanpage" / "LikePage" just for the project.
2.)Create facebook profiles for members and link them to project page.
3.)Create a myspace page for the project
4.)Create a sonicbids.com electronic press kit for project.
5.)Create a twitter account for the project.
6.)Create a hootsuite.com account for the project (as in the previous post, this will let you update all your social media at one time)
This isn't an exhaustive list, but it's a good start. Also, post frequently. The more frequent you put out information, the better recognition you will generate. Don't spam certainly, but stay active.
Todd
Here is a great article from TUBEMOGUL.COM and BRIGHTCOVE.COM (both big players in streaming/analytics) about the current state of affairs and future trends in online video viewing. Clearly, streaming is the future and knowing how people consume media can give you a big advantage when trying to promote yourself and your music.
http://www.tubemogul.com/marketing/Q3_2010.pdf
Todd
THE SHRINKING MUSIC BUSINESS AND HOW TO THRIVE DESPITE IT
The sad news is that "Music Business" that is the biz of selling units of music is shrinking. It continues to shrink every year. But fear not, with change comes opportunity. Have a look at this chart.
This trend promises to continue well in to the future indicating the "Traditional" Music Biz is simply going away. But it's not really going to disapear. It's just changing. That's great news for you as an emerging artist. The first thing you have to do is forget the measure of success in the old model. Usually this involved getting signed by a big record company and such. These days, most of those companies are dead broke and inches from bankruptcy. So what to do?
The good news is there has never been a better time to be a musician. Distribution is now free (the internet) but your music should also stay free. This is something many new artists struggle with. But at first, until you have a pretty big following, your main enemy is OBSCURITY, or the fact that nobody knows you or your music. So give your music away, put it in indie movies, short films, anything. You just need to get it out there and get it heard.
You may be thinking "How will I make money if I give my music away?". You won't, at first. Once you reach a certain critical mass, (once you have a decent following that is statistically verifiable whether on youtube, twitter, whatever, that is a kind of currency, a kind of wealth. You can take that to vendors, (folks that make stuff you want like guitars and amps) and ask for a "sponsorship" essentially you agree to pimp product X to your audience in exchange for getting product X for free or crazy cheap.
You may say this, is great, but it won't pay my bills. Your right. To do that, you will need to find places to put your music. Sign up for as many online music services (like one mentioned here in the forums, minusdrums.com) and wads of others that will either buy your music for licensing / selling to others, or license it for you and split the proceeds. Many of these companies offer "non exclusive" contracts meaning you can put the same song on more than one sight.
Also, try to make friends with up and coming film directors. Contact the film program at every school/university near you and offer to help score student projects. Even if by "scoring" you just offer up some songs. Odds are some of those directors will find work, and when they do, you have a history with them and by then a relationship and that leads to opportunity. Next thing you know you are making music for movies.
Same is true for games. Insert yourself in the lives of creative people and establish relationships. It's these that will provide the best opportunities.
I've just listed a few ways to monetize your music. I didn't touch on touring, gigging, etc. But I wanted to go in to areas you might not think of. This is a great time to alive and to be making music. Embrace the change and find your path.
Practice!
Todd
THE SHRINKING MUSIC BUSINESS AND HOW TO THRIVE DESPITE IT
The sad news is that "Music Business" that is the biz of selling units of music is shrinking. It continues to shrink every year. But fear not, with change comes opportunity. Have a look at this chart.
This trend promises to continue well in to the future indicating the "Traditional" Music Biz is simply going away. But it's not really going to disapear. It's just changing. That's great news for you as an emerging artist. The first thing you have to do is forget the measure of success in the old model. Usually this involved getting signed by a big record company and such. These days, most of those companies are dead broke and inches from bankruptcy. So what to do?
The good news is there has never been a better time to be a musician. Distribution is now free (the internet) but your music should also stay free. This is something many new artists struggle with. But at first, until you have a pretty big following, your main enemy is OBSCURITY, or the fact that nobody knows you or your music. So give your music away, put it in indie movies, short films, anything. You just need to get it out there and get it heard.
You may be thinking "How will I make money if I give my music away?". You won't, at first. Once you reach a certain critical mass, (once you have a decent following that is statistically verifiable whether on youtube, twitter, whatever, that is a kind of currency, a kind of wealth. You can take that to vendors, (folks that make stuff you want like guitars and amps) and ask for a "sponsorship" essentially you agree to pimp product X to your audience in exchange for getting product X for free or crazy cheap.
You may say this, is great, but it won't pay my bills. Your right. To do that, you will need to find places to put your music. Sign up for as many online music services (like one mentioned here in the forums, minusdrums.com) and wads of others that will either buy your music for licensing / selling to others, or license it for you and split the proceeds. Many of these companies offer "non exclusive" contracts meaning you can put the same song on more than one sight.
Also, try to make friends with up and coming film directors. Contact the film program at every school/university near you and offer to help score student projects. Even if by "scoring" you just offer up some songs. Odds are some of those directors will find work, and when they do, you have a history with them and by then a relationship and that leads to opportunity. Next thing you know you are making music for movies.
Same is true for games. Insert yourself in the lives of creative people and establish relationships. It's these that will provide the best opportunities.
I've just listed a few ways to monetize your music. I didn't touch on touring, gigging, etc. But I wanted to go in to areas you might not think of. This is a great time to alive and to be making music. Embrace the change and find your path.
Practice!
Todd
Just added these articles to our knowledge base Todd
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/wiki/index.php/Promoting_Your_Playing_And_Your_Music
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/wiki/index.php/Making_it_in_the_music_business_today
FOLLOWING UP ON SOCIAL MEDIA: JUST PASSED 3500 SUBSCRIBERS ON YOUTUBE! (You can too!)
I wanted to share a happy thing with all my GMC brethren. I just made it past 3500 Subscribers on my youtube channel which has been a goal of mine for some time now. I set my sub goals in 500 subscriber chunks so next up is 4k. Keeping your goals attainable is important. If you can keep progressing on the goals you can attain, it makes the bigger ones seems not nearly as daunting. Here is a screen grab. (Pushing my goal of 1.5 Miillion views as well and getting close!)
What's the secret? Easy. Read on.
[http://youtube.com/techniqueswithtodd
Let's go over my "Tube Tips" again. Getting yourself out there and heard has never been as easy as it is now.
#1 - Post videos that encourage repeat views such as good lesson videos with tablature if possible.
#2 - Tag every video using tags that will help people find your vids. Borrow tags from vids that have HUGE views but don't "tag Spam"
#3 - Respond to every question, comment and friend request no matter how long it takes, WARNING: It seems to take forever but it's fun and it's worth it to meet all those great players and students on youtube.
#4 - Find students who you could help and suggest your vids to them.
Practice!
Todd
Here is a really informative article about SELLING YOUR MUSIC in the new age of the Music Biz.
http://talenthouselive.com/blog/how-to-sell-and-market-your-music-using-the-latest-research/
Here is an excerpt....
How I haven't seen this topic before ?!!? Thanks buddy !!!
Thanks Todd for sharing these useful tips, awesome initiative, and great activity!
"MAKING IT" and "MAKING YOUR WAY" in the "BIZ"
I wanted to share this post in my Promotion Thread here as it's very pertinent to the topic. It's from a KILLER thread where Ben shares his "Guitar Bushido" and the instructors talk about making a living with music. Here is a link to the full thread and below that is my post that started the snowball rolling.
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=41613&st=0&gopid=553449&#entry553449
----------
The days of "value added plastic" (CD's/DVD's) are gone. Big acts can make money touring, but smaller acts struggle to break even doing live shows for the most part. The trick is really to get you or your band across the threshold from being a local, to a regional, to a national act. At that point, tour money can be enough to live on if done wisely. But it's not just about touring.
At this point in the industry, it's about putting together multiple revenue streams.
1.)Touring
2.)Merchandise
3.)Songs for Hire
4.)Appearances/Lessons
5.)Private Gigs
6.)Endorsements
and above all
7.)Licensing.
That last one is the biggy. If you can license your music to a TV show, Movie, Video Game or commercial, You can do really well financially. Once you establish yourself as a business (a few forms in most places) and create some music and go through the copyright process for your band name etc. You are ready to start selling.
It won't come to you, but you there has never been a better time to be a musician. Gear is cheap, you can put together a home studio that would have cost as much as a house about 10 years ago. You can use social media to get yourself out there. Skip the record lable. This is the age of DIY (Do It Yourself)
Start with social media (youtube / facebook) and get ready to spend wads of time pimping yourself/band. In a perfect world, we would just create music, and the rest would take care of itself. Sadly, we live in this world, not the perfect one. But again, the playing field is more level than ever. Go forth!
Todd
*Want more views on your YOUTUBE videos? Follow the "P"s!
1.)Pre Pimp Posts
-Put out through hootsuite.com (which hits all your social media in on go, spiff! go there and sign up if you haven't already, it's free and CRUCIAL!) that you are about to release a new video. Maybe a day or two ahead.
2.)Pimp the Post
-Use the BULLETIN feature on youtube to create a bulletin about your new video. Also, hit hootsuite.com again and send out tweet/facebook/etc. that you have a new video up.
3.)Parlay the Post
-Parlay your post in to results by running a search on the keywords you think might work best. Find what key words are working for top view count vids and STEAL THEM.
4.)Pepper the Posts
Pepper all the posts you find with similar key words and high view counts with video responses containing your new vid! It's still there, just scroll down a bit.
5.)Pay to Play
-Pay up and start a low budget google adsense campaign or a "promoted video" campaign right on youtube. If you don't have a google adsense account, GO MAKE ONE! It's free. Here is the link.
http://www.google.com/intl/en/ads/publisher/#utm_source=adsense&utm_medium=login&utm_campaign=ww-en-et-adsense-pubsollink
If you want to know more about paying for promoted videos on youtube, check this link.
http://support.google.com/youtube/bin/topic.py?hl=en&topic=16040
To promote your video, Budget about 30 to 50 euro each month. Bid slightlyl higher than top suggested bid for important key words, but limit your total spend to set amount. That amount becomes your ad budget
Finally EMBRACE ANALYTICS! (Youtube has great built in tools to help you track how your videos are doing and how people are finding them. Here is a screen grab.
Also, GET THIS BOOK! It RAWKS! It's packed with tips on leveraging SOCIAL MEDIA (facebook, youtube etc.)
http://www.amazon.com/Fans-Friends-Followers-Building-Audience/dp/1442100745/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1326341165&sr=8-2-fkmr1
I just revisited my channel, edited info, added tags, submitted few video responses. This information is really helpful. I have been getting quite more views now. Last time I posted, I used to get about a 100 views. Now its more like 300/400. I have started to do covers and that has helped a bit. I will do more and see where I will reach in next 3-6 months. Cheers, Todd, very valuable advice.
Great advice Todd!
I recently checked my youtube account and will edit my tags this weekend and start putting up more stuff on a regular basis.
I am preparing a couple of lessons based on german bands at the moment, it is for the Student Instructor section here but my few lessons are the videos which have the most views. I am also thinking about a few covers, they really seem to boost views.
Christian
Excellent work Todd, these are some valuable tips
A great article on how to leverage FACEBOOK to get more views/listeners/buyers for your music! It's a great read with simple, effective tips.
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/newbay/elm_201202/index.php#/78/OnePage
Thanks Todd! Wonderful tips mate! I have reached almost 1200 subscribers and 360 000 views on my channel and they keep raising every day. I bet that if I apply the stuff you're sharing here I can boost this sky high
GET SIGNED BY ROADRUNNER RECORDS!
The great guys at indie Metal lable ROAD RUNNER RECORDS want to hear your music and sign you to a record deal! Well, if they like your music that is. They have a web page where anybody can submit their music and get a deal! This isn't a get rich quick scheme guys, as even with a record deal, you'll still have to work your can off.
But check out this link and submit your music and see what happens!
CLICK BELOW - SHOOT THEM YOUR TRACKS!
http://signmeto.roadrunnerrecords.com/?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=YouTube+Channel+Banner+(Signmeto&utm_campaign=YouTube+Channel+Banner+(Signmeto
http://signmeto.roadrunnerrecords.com/?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=YouTube+Channel+Banner+(Signmeto&utm_campaign=YouTube+Channel+Banner+(Signmetohttp://signmeto.roadrunnerrecords.com/?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=YouTube+Channel+Banner+(Signmeto&utm_campaign=YouTube+Channel+Banner+(Signmeto
Awesome tip Todd, thanks! I'll check it out. You're master of internet marketing
Good thread ,thanks!
Thanks a lot for this thread Todd! Really great info here, will definitely be trying all this...
I agree with your point about Social Media being the great Democratizer, and all the massive record labels are going down, because everyone can do virtually everything themselves now, in front of their computer!
"It's a great time to be a musician" - AMEN!
It is an awesome time indeed thanks to the exposure GMC and Youtube have given me, I can now think of taking advantage of some really interesting opportunities like sponsorships and endorsements - thank you GMC!
Great video talking about the Pros and Cons of giving your music away for free as a promotional tool. From the BERKLEE College of Music.
LOOKING TO LICENSE or SELL SOME OF YOUR MUSIC TO MOVIES/TV/Etc?
I recently came across a new web site I've since joined called MUSIC XRAY and I wanted to share it with you guys. I found them through soundcloud.com and they are parnters actually. You can link your accounts and your music is available to producers and such and you can apply for various opportunities for you and your music. Here is the link.
http://www.musicxray.com/
http://www.musicxray.com/
Checkout BANDCAMP.com if you have not already to promote your music! It's free and provides a great platform for musicians to give/sell their music. Here is my bandcamp page. I just started one and hope to add wads of stuff!
http://divinusmortus.bandcamp.com/
There's never been a better time to be a Musician/Band in terms of being able to get your music out there and shared with the world. The internet can be a wonderful thing
Of course that has to be balanced against the internet being the vehicle for making even "Paid" music "Free" and constricting the music "biz" as a whole to a fraction of it's former Glory. Still I personally think the trade off's have been worth the costs. Under the old system, bands like TESSERACT and PERIPHERY may not have ever gotten very far (of course some folks may think they would have gotten a huge record deal), due to somewhat limited commercial appeal and the fact that they were able to record/produce their own work in their bedrooms and share it on the internet to get some heat, instead of having to do it the "old way".
In the "old days", they'd have been paying for studio time, hustling their demo and trying to get any metal lable to care. But being able to generate their own "hype" via the web and produce their own music using home computers/software, gave them a HUGE leg up (IMHO).
The GOOD NEWS is that technology has flattened many of the old barriers to entry. So I vote everyone takes maximum advantage!!
Todd
Tried and tested Todd!
I have no clue just yet, if this branch of Universal is also taking care of physical distribution, but I think the best thing here would be to settle a meeting with the dude in charge of this whole thing and see what their services consist in.
Wow! Thanks Tony! Really, REALLY valuable info here!
Your band should have a WEB SITE in addition to your Social Media, (facebook, myspace, tumbler, whatever). These can all be linked to your site, and integrated if you like But ideally, if you have a "Band" you should make a "BAND SITE". There are several sites that will let you build something quick and easy using only your web browser. These have benefits.
1.)Anyone can build a site!
2.)No HTML required!
3.)No software required!
Handy eh? Some of these sites charge money. Some don't. Of the ones that charge money,
http://www.bandzoogle.com
is a good choice. But if you are on a budget, I have found one that's FREE.
http://www.get-ctrl.com/
Both are easy to use and will allow you to get your band on the web instead of just having a profile.
Todd
Everyone needs a website indeed! Now, the level of complexity and options is SO big that you might easily get lost in there. I will tackle the scenario in which you want to invest some time and learn how to use the Wordpress platform as out of what I understood, they are being very flexible and offer a lot of interesting options.
Anybody here skilled in this area maybe?
The good news is that with todays tools there is almost no skill required to make a presentable web site. WORDPRESS is always an option, but I'd suggest you take a look at
http://www.get-ctrl.com/
which is a place designed just for musicians. For FREE it will walk you through all the steps to creating your band web site online. It integrates your social media and has a built in email capture page. You can do a lot with word press, but the default free templates are not that sexy and tweaking it for a band site can take a decent knowledge of PHP and CSS and other things most musicians would rather just not mess with in general.
I"m going to build a test site on get-ctrl for my DIVINUS MORTUS project to test it out. I"ll share the link when it goes up!
Todd
Anyone remember myspace? It's fallen out of favor as a social media destination in the states. However, don't ignore it in your social media strategy. You can set up hootsuite.com to post to all of your social media at one time which is a great time saver. There are some parts of the world where myspace is still used so believe it or not it's a good idea to maintain your profile. Myspace recently relaunched with minimal fanfare so get ready to have to change your profile for the new platform. Myspace does allow customization. Here is my current profile. Share yours
http://www.myspace.com/techniqueswithtodd
Great vid talking about building your fan base BEFORE you try to "Sell" anything. Unless you have about 2,000 to 2,5000 actual fans (not just likes but actual fans that respond and who've given you their email address) You are really better off just giving your music away than trying to sell it.
Below that threshold your just trying to raise awareness more than anything. This does mean eating the costs associated with putting anything out which is why it's a good idea to go purely digital until the fan base makes physical product financially viable. Here is the vid.
It's a great option and it's FREE!! It's still new so it's got some bugs, but nothing too major.
A really spiff article on REVERB NATION about getting your Music on iTunes. REVERB NATION is a great free resource for promoting your band/music. I know it seems like all these sites are a pain to keep up with, but it's all part of getting the word out about your music. If you don't have a reverb nation profile, go set one up. I'm working on mine now.
Here is the link.
http://www.reverbnation.com/band-promotion/digitaldistribution?utm_campaign=a_distro&utm_content=button_get_started_now&utm_medium=email&utm_source=feature_artist_digital_distro
I was going to share some of my experience when it comes to Youtube and marketing and found this thread started by Todd, so I might be repeating what's already been shared here but it might be something new.
Something that is really important when it comes to getting ranked high in Google and Youtube is links to your video from blogs and all the social media sites. While it is good to get links from your own facebook and Twitter accounts you should try to get all your friends to also tweet, and share on Facebook and Google plus, the more the better. You can also use annotations in the video to incourage people to share with their friends.
(When you edit the video it is a good idea to put an image in the video that says "please share" or something that stands out a little bit, an image looks a lot better than the annotation.
If you have a website or blog than it's a good idea to make an image inside the video clickable for example an image that says "Click here to visit my new website") This is a pretty new feature in Youtube and it will for sure increase visitors to your website. (Something for GMC maybe)
Keywords in the title and description has already been talked about but it's very important to get any views other than from friends and channel subscribers. If yout put "My new guitar video" as a title and nothing in the description you will not get any views from search. If you put "Cool Guitar Riff in the Style of Hendrix" and also write something about this riff in the description and also include keywords and tags you will have a much bigger chance of getting many more views.
If you have a website you can embed your video. Something that helps the ranking is to also put a link to your video or channel just under the video itself or somwhere in the text.
Finaly chose a good thumbnail you know the picture that you see on the side and in search. For example if you make a how to play something and have tabs to share make a picture that illustrate that you share the tabs, everybody wants tabs so they will likley click on your video first.
There is lot of very good videos with hardly no views at all so if you shoot a good video take a litle time and go through these steps to give it a chance.
If you are serious about your music or have a band you should register a domain it is only $10/year and the hosting of the website cost from $5-10/month.
If you need any help with setting up a wordpress blog just let me know, I have some pretty good templates you can use. I don't have a ton of time but if you want to promote your music I will be happy to help.
/Lars
Some very good tips! All of these are really worth doing. If you've got a handy word press theme, please do share! I'd love to see it Word press is a great way for musicians to get involved with the web.
Todd
The graphic design for my site is almost ready, will share as soon as it's done - I'm curious to see what you guys think
I strongly support Darius' statement about communication I never even thought about acquiring such a following on my Youtube channel (I have 2200 subscribers so far and counting) but I took care to answer each nice comment and of course, ignore the trolls While at it, I was very constant in uploading videos, thanks to my GMC lessons (I always upload the main video of each lesson on my Youtube channel, having the gmc link in the text description so that anyone wanting to find out more can visit the link)
Aint it the truth!!! At one point I was spending several hours each day just responding to youtube questions from my vids. I actually slowed down making vids as I just couldn't answer everything. I have since started spending more time here @ GMC than on youtube.
Todd
Todd, I would be very grateful if you could explain in a few words how the monetizing process takes place on YT... I have activated this option about a month and a half ago and it says that there are no available statistics for monetizing
Sure (P.S. shoot me a pm in cases of direct questions if possible with alink to the forum just so I don't space out and miss it!)
The Basic process is
1.)Youtube invites you to be a "partner"
2.)You create a Google Adsense account.
3)You turn on monetization in youtube.
4.)After wads and wads of views, you get a little bit of money.
It takes HUGE amounts of views to get any money. Personally, I turned off ALL pre roll ads since they are lame and drive people away from your vids and reduce views. Honestly, monetization is almost pointless unless you are HANNA MINX or one of these youtubers with 10 million subscribers.
With most cases, it just turns people off your vids when they have to watch ads before or during so I turn all that off. I let the small banner ads play though and it makes a hundred bux or so each month. It's pretty paultry.
Todd
Hey man! Thank you, got the PM this morning Will reply in a gippy!
YOUTUBE has changed the way each channel looks and they have a new banner size. Here is a jpg template to base your new banner around It shows what will be cut off for each platform (mobile/tablet/etc.)
P.S. Here is a link to the YOUTUBE CREATOR ACADEMY a full video course to help you maximize your viewership!
https://creatoracademy.withgoogle.com/unit?unit=1&lesson=1
Here is mine, Check it out for reference.
http://www.reverbnation.com/techniqueswithtodd
Also, when you make your FREE PROFILE, connect with me via ReverbNation and I will connect back with you!! Follow this same procedure with any band you like on reverb nation and invite your friends in bands to join and connect to you as well. It's a great way to create a network of connections and contacts online and in the real world.
Also, you can sell your music with the FREE online reverbnation store and even sell Tshirts WITHOUT HAVING TO BUY THEM FIRST!! you can upload your design or make one using the web site. You don't have to buy the Tshirts. They just make them as the order comes in so your cost is NOTHING!!!
HERE IS THE LINK TO SIGN UP.
https://www.reverbnation.com/signup
If you are recording your own music, take a minute and...
Just signed up for it now, Todd. https://www.reverbnation.com/stormlinnebjerg
Super Congrats!! So far you are the only one to respond to the post or create an account that I can find. I think many folks may feel they are not "ready". I'd say, if you have anything recorded, your ready I checked out your page and it's looking good!!!
Also I noticed you tied some of your other social media in to it. Well done there as well!! The secret sauce to leveraging the internet to your advantage as a musician doesn't require wads of cash or miracles, just a bit of time and effort.
Push back through this thread when you get a chance, it has some great tips on gaining ground in the Social Media World for your music Other than touring non-stop, this is a great way to spread the news about your playing/music!
Todd
Hey, these services look pretty spiff and useful.
I have a Youtube account too (http://www.youtube.com/user/TakaPerryOfficial), but I don't really get any activity on it. I'm not sure if it's a matter of time, as I can definitely say I've built up a following on SoundCloud.
The idea of starting up a new following is scary, especially considering that I've already gotten a following on SoundCloud and Facebook. If I'm already happy with using these services, what are the advantages of me promoting my Youtube account as well?
I want to keep music as my focus, and not have to spend lots of time staying on top of different services. What would you think? Thanks
Sort the same bits I was mentioning in the other thread about Social Media and the idea that you NEVER want your "fans" to type your name/band in a search box and come up empty. The good news is that reverbnation offers some bits that other sites don't offer like Electronic Press Kits, getting tracks released on iTunes, help in creating promotional campaigns, regional, national rankings etc.
In short, it's just for bands. Not like facebook which is for pretty much everything. So it's very focused. Soundcloud is a great place and I'd say it's crucial to be part of it. Facebook/Twitter are less about music but still vital to your Social Media strategy. As you continue on youtube, check your ANALYTICS!!! This can tell you who is watching what and for how long. It's the key to finding who your audience is and isn't.
One way to get more traction on one site, is to promote it with your accounts on the other sites. E.G. link back to a youtube video from soundcloud/facebook/etc. embed the vid everywhere, pay for a promotional campaign, etc.
FOCUS ON MUSIC: I don't know if you saw in my other post in another thread of yours, but you can use a site like hootsuite.com to let you post to most of your social media at one time and schedule posts to happen later. So you can spend far less time on social media and more time on music So yeah, focus on music. Just be smart about how you do social media!
Todd! I would be very interested in understanding how Adsense works and how I can use my Youtube account in combination with AdSense - I can't monetize my videos unless I do that and they are asking me for my website, which I don't have, at the moment.. Thank you millions!
I wanted to share some NEW INK!!! I recently did an Interview for the
UNDERGROUNDGUITARIST.com Guitar Blog!!
Here is the link
http://undergroundguitarist.com/interview-with-todd-simpson-on-learning-awesome-guitar-technique
There are TONS of sites like this all over the web and they often give underground musicians/bands a break and some nice ink If you have a musical project and some songs/links/band site, even a reverb nation page, be outgoing and Contact as many of these sites as you want and ask them if you can do an interview or have your music reviewed/featured!!
That's how I got this interview! I emailed him with my links/sites/music and asked for it
Thank you for the tip Todd! I will write them too
Todd, I followed your advice and set up a Reverbnation account a few days ago. I finally got my tracks up, filled out my bio, connected my accounts etc., and for some reason I'm #2 in my area. I really don't know how that happened.
Anyway, http://www.reverbnation.com/takaperry so let me know what you think! Thanks man
As far as I know the rank system is based on "genre in area" though. I'm about 30th in my area for metal, I think. Might have been higher if I had chosen some other genre,
Super Congrats!!!! One suggestion, change your LOCATION to a BIG city that is near by. It's great to be high in the rankings but if you are high in the rankings for a really tiny place that folks have never heard of, it takes some of the gravity out of it. What is the biggest city that's closest to you? Whatever that is, change your location (the help section will walk you through it) to that city. It will porbably keep your high ranking and make it seem far more legit!
Yeah, the "nag screens" are just them trying to pay the bills. You just gotta click around them The good news is, the site is free to use, but they will still keep pitching as that's how they make money right? It's a business, not a charity so I don't begrudge them hustling for a buck, but I don't spend any money there Not yet anyway!
Todd
Good idea!! The guy that runs the site is very cool and always up for an interview with a new Artist! I"ll email him to let him know your coming his way!
Todd
Hello !
So for Germany i must say because of Fan pages and Sites like that ,
You must have a IMPRESSUM on the page visible from each page !!!
Soo Full Name and Full Adress Phone Fax and E-mail !!!
If not the charging will start from 500 until 50.000 Euro
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impressum
Sins spring this year they started massively to control websites all over the place .
Ouch!! I have been watching DWTV (Deutche Welle) News and I've been seeing something about this. It seems very concerning. The German government seems a bit worried about all the activities that the United states CIA has been doing lately and are very focused on privacy issues and on controlling the internet.
I don't know where this will end up but it is not looking good so far The good news is that even if they require full contact info, you can get around it
1.)Get a GOOGLE VOICE number.
-It's free, voice.google.com and you can give out this number without worrying. It's not a "real" number so it's not tied to you and can't be used for identity theft
2.)Get a Post Office Box
-I use my P.O. box for all public listings of my address. Your real address can be used for identity theft so keep that off the web.
3.)Email
-As long as your email is not your full name, your fine
Hey Todd,
I've basically read this whole thread from the start now. You've stressed the importance of having a YouTube channel, and a lot of people have YouTube channels here at GMC, including you, Cosmin, Darius, thefireball and many others. I think YouTube is simply a bigger network than SoundCloud, and thus there is more chance of somebody stumbling upon your music.
So here's what I'm wondering; I've reached the point on https://soundcloud.com/taka-perry where I can get a steady stream of followers every day, and I can log on to see that I have a few new comments/likes. I'm not too sure how I got to this stage.
I do have a YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/TakaPerryOfficial), but at this current stage, everything is fairly stagnant. I've been uploading videos at a fairly consistent pace (about 2-3 a month), but it kind of feels like there is nothing happening. I'm guessing YouTube channels are kind of snowball effect in that once you get your initial momentum going, everything will come naturally. I'm kind of considering starting fresh with a new YouTube channel that is more focused on music and guitar specifically. What are your thoughts?
Youtube is MUCH bigger than pretty much any of the other user created content networks. So yup, it's where the "eyballs" are
The thing that frustrates most folks is getting any traction/views. It takes some trial and error, but it's certainly possible to build a following as evidenced by the GMC instructors and many students
However, it's not really an "either or" kind of thing IMHO. Each site/network has it's purpose and place. Soundcloud is a very different thing. But it's a very important place to be if you want your music to be heard IMHO. You may notice that every record label on earth has a soundclound account as does mostly any band worth noting.
Some things make sense to post on soundcloud and not youtube. Sometimes, the other way around.
As for getting some traction on youtube, it's an art to be sure. Here are some tips.
1.)do some research on youtube and pick 5 or 10 channels that you like and want to emulate in some way. I know you want to be original, but using some examples/role models is a great way to gain a foothold.
2.)Look at the videos on the channels you've picked. Break them down, watch them WITHOUT AUDIO. What is in the frame? Does the video look like it's shot in a bedroom or a studio or outside? What camera angles are used? What do you see in the frame?
3.)Turn audio back on. What types of videos on these channels are getting the most traffic? Original Music? Cover Music? Gear Reviews? Lyric Videos? Take note of what works and try to adapt your content just a bit in order to compete.
I wish I could simply say "Be yourself, just let the music do the talking" but sadly, there is an element of salesmanship and showmanship that go in to making a compelling video and a compelling channel. You can tell which channels are compelling pretty easily. Look at the view count and subscriber count. More than a MILLION total Views? Probably something can be learned from that channel Less than a Million views? Maybe still something to be learned but perhaps not quite as much.
That's a pretty basic breakdown of the entire system and an approach that has worked for me Of course, there are UNLIMITED WAYS OF APPROACHING IT. You just have to decide which approach to take based on what works for you
Hope this helps!
Todd
Great insight Todd - I think you pointed out a great way of analysis in respect to getting yourself out there. My account is almost 850000 views and hopefully, it'll reach the million this year. I will try and experiment myself with the indications you posted, might be I will get a little boost
Dietrle....can You post some english version of that issue? I'm not quite sure what's it all about but it smell bad as far :/ Do I get it correctly...sort of cash punishment for not having full contact info on Your facebook page ? :/
Happy to help!! You are getting really good traction it looks like but every bit helps!
Todd
Thanks again man - the thing is that I noticed a little but too much of a drop in the increase. I should post more vids more often, I guess
It's only natural what's happened recently is that companies with DEEEP pockets are paying to promote their own "viral" vids so competing with them is starting to really make things hard for the little guys like us!!!
You can promote a vid via facebook "promoted post" and get some good results. But usually it's 1 vid play per 1000 impressions or so. Bottom line, if you promote a post and get 10,000 views on facebook, the youtube vid in that post might only get 100 plays. And youtube stops EVERY vid around 300 plays to make sure it's not spam and then after it's approve the play count can increase
Todd
One thing which I used to do and I don't do anymore, was to post my vids into about 200-300 musician groups on FB. I think that helped a lot, you know and maybe it would be a good idea to start doing it again, at least for a period, to see if it will really boost things as I thought it did before. Have you ever tried this?
Saddest thing is howall those views and social activities relates to real life. I very often come to this conclusion - play gigs, visit constantly a list of places You played before. Your audince will grow each time and it gives more real life profits than having 1 milions views on YT video.
Of course it's very cool to have a lot of internet fans and listeners butvery often it doesn't affect Your regular life that much.
Also...focuinsg on one big thing that You belive in would be best choice. I wonder how would look my position i nthe market if I would stop all those little collabnorations and made my own solo project, focusing only on this in all aspects - recordings, YT and social promotion, gigs management etc.
Very often I think of how true is that - "If You want something to be done well, do it yourself"
THAT"S A BRILLIANT IDEA!!!!!
Active posting in FB groups is a wonderful idea and can help make your vids get some serious traction. I hadn't thought of that but it's a great idea!!
Todd
I think it worked a lot of times - especially that in here we have about 40 groups that are rock communities of each city - Bucharest Rock Community, Timisoara Rock Community and so on
I'm actually going to borrow this idea it's a really good one!!
Hehe Glad I could help - are there any groups like this in the USA? Dunno, something like Wisconsin Rock Community?
There are TONS of groups on facebook for Rock/Metal/Guitar related stuff in the U.S. Just winnowing them down will be a bit of a chore, but well worth it I'm sure A quick search yielded wads of them.
Have too add some interesting thoughts I had sometimes...
It's useless to promote Your playing within guitar players....they ain't gonna get You a job because they will keep it for themselfs
Now...imagine to have as many "other instruments" friends as we usually have the guitar dudes on FB. They are the ones that could need a guitar player time to time
I got an email that "Five Finger Death Punch" had subscribed to me on twitter. At first I was a bit taken aback. Then I noticed they have just tons of folks they follow. They are using "following" on twitter as a promotional tool to get "follow backs". This is yet another of those strategies that sucks up wads of time and works best when farmed out to someone else who gets paid or volunteers to do it.
Many folks (not all, certainly, NOT ALL) will give you a "Follow Back" on twitter if you follow them. So following folks that look to have similar interests in music can create more followers for your twitter feed.
DISCLAIMERBefore the "anti" posts begin, I'll say again that such advice on using social media is only intended for folks who spend some of their time trying to leverage social media. There are plenty of folks who find it a waste of time so this post is really not meant for those people.
I did want to point out this practice as it's used by some larger bands. They have interns, paid folks who can follow people all day. Doing it yourself requires BALANCE that cosmin and I keep talking about.
You bring up a good point here. Follow backs are really flakey. And ideally in a perfect word I'd like to only deal with followers I can make a solid connection with. However, until the perfect world arrives, the number of followers one has at any given time on these services speaks volumes to potential folks who may be considering an opportunity or partnership with you. I know this is somewhat offensive especially to newer musicians. But at least knowing how the game is played has it's own value. Even if it's a bit sickening.
For example, say you are looking to establish yourself as a review guy. Like Ryan Bruce, Ola Englund, Keith Merrow,etc. Being able to approach vendors and point out that you have good numbers is key. If you have really low/bad numbers, it just broadcasts that you have yet to achieve "relevance" in the eyes of most of the biz. Not that this is bad, you can make AMAZING music and be "relevant" to only 3 people. If that is ok then bingo!
If not, being able to understand what is involved in generating enough traction to make vendors want to send you stuff to review or keep has some value. But if you would rather skip all that and just pay as you go for gear, then it really doesn't matter if you are on social media at all. You can let people find you. As I've mentioned some folks take this route and let the music only do the talking. It's certainly a valid approach
Personally I try to achieve some level of balance. I keep up with social media ideas and concepts/best practices to a degree so that I can get some traction as I really like reviewing gear that I don't have to buy But hey that's just me
Todd
Well, to go back a bit to Darius' observation - it is very true Promoting guitar stuff among guitarists can't be that great, but promoting it among people that want to learn the instrument can be good and if you know how to wrap it up, it will also catch the ears of normal listeners. That's why a catchy theme is always welcome
I tried to get all relevant info in this thread in this wiki entry, which I just updated, let me know if it's okor missing something Todd
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/wiki/index.php/Promoting_Your_Playing_And_Your_Music
Just my thoughts while adding new virtual friends Cosmin
I had kind of a positive experience with the follow back technique from a small band that found me on twitter. I hadn't done too much with it, and have about 4 followers, but got notified a band called Outlet started to follow me, so I checked out their music and whether it was dumb luck or not was music I really like. So I followed them back and tweeted them about trying my picks and now I have some on my way to them. It was an example of how that worked out for both of us. Hopefully.... But I wouldn't just follow somebody back to be polite if I had no interest in what they were about. And I really wouldn't care if somebody followed me if they didn't care about what I was about.
That is an AMAZING job on pulling all these thread ideas together in to one Tapestry of Information!!! FREAKING WELL DONE FRAN!!!!!!! You RRRRRAAAAAWWWWKKKK!!!!!
Hehe, indeed, great work Fran!
That is a great thread and should be pinned at the top of the forum
At the moment we have no videos so Youtube will be nice for promotion in the future but at the moment we will concentrate on Facebook and Homepage.
But I will create a http://www.reverbnation.com/ account asap because it looks really interesting
As hobbyband should we also create an account here ?
http://www.bandcamp.com
http://www.musicxray.com
Thanks
Frankster
Thanks! Most of it is in our GMC WIKI! Another great resource for information! Our WIKI GURU Fran has put it all in wonderful order!! He did a much better job organizing it than I did on presenting it for sure! Here is the link!
http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/wiki/index.php/Promoting_Your_Playing_And_Your_Music
Be sure to share your new places on the web with the GMC Community!
Todd
Hey mate It's a lot to talk about, but the first step, as Todd suggested, is to look in the thread and read from the shared knowledge of everyone gathered here
Then, as you progress with your promotional activities, use this thread to communicate with us and tell us what's what - each step has different observations and the dynamics of this sort of activities is something that has to be undertaken at that point at which it is planned or already happening - if you get the drift
My ReverbNation site is online:
Take a look http://www.reverbnation.com/rewind12
Alright mate! Now I can read stuff about your band - your rhythm guitar is named like a Japanese guy but looks European What's the story?
Congrats!!! It's great to tie all y our social media together. That way your fans can get to your stuff no matter what social media they use and they can skip from reverbnation to facebook in one click
Another interesting tool would be MailChimp - it allows you to organize e-mail campaigns and it keeps track of the subscribers on your site, offering you analysis tools to keep you updated You will need a bit of time to understand how it works and maybe even have someone to help out with coding a bit. I've been using it in various music or non music related projects and it works amazing! Check out more here: http://mailchimp.com/
I'm sure that there are other solutions of this kind as well, so let's see what the other guys say
Haha Amazing - do ask, it can be a great story for the fans
Have you tried Mail Chimp?
Mail chimp is a great way to track your fans there is an email capture feature built in to reverb nation and lots of bands are using their reverbnation.com page as their main page. This is fine of course, but having your own site is always a good idea MAIL CHIMP has a free plan and will let you capture email address on your band site. That way you can start and email list of of fans and mail them updates/specials/etc.
For instance, I set it so that it will announce me regarding the number of new subscribers to the mailing lists of the projects in which I have installed it. It's a really cool tool
Here is a link to a FREE video course on YOUTUBE created by youtube. Very helpful info!!
http://creatoracademy.withgoogle.com/course
Hehe! Thanks man! I'm curious if it can do something for my channel - it has been in a slow progress for the last 4-5 months, but it is somehow stalling..
Sure Why not? A giveaway contest is a good way to bump up traffic. Contact the folks that you represent in terms of gear and see if they can give something that you could give away in a video contest on your channel.
Also, look in to putting a little ad spend in to play. A little ad spend can go a long way ]
Todd
Great idea! Thanks Todd! I will see what I can cook up in terms of a contest then and lay down a plan.
Wanted to share the findings of something done by buffer.com, big shock, on FACEBOOK, LONGER POSTS DO POORLY!!!
I"m guessing everyone knows this. But just in case. When posting on your facebook "Fan Page" (if you don't have a fan page for your music, go make one, it's free) try to keep the posts short. Longer posts just don't generate good returns in terms of folks reading or responding. Here is a handy chart to illustrate.
The "sweet spot" is about 120 characters for a facebook post This is even SHORTER THAN TWITTER!!! (140 characters) so basicallly, your fan page posts should be shorter than a tweet!
Good call here man Facebook is an INSTRUMENT which can and should be used as such. A short announcement pointing out to something behind a link, is the way to go - am I right?
Pretty much It can be a post about anything your fans may be interested in, just keep it short and always use either a PICTURE or a VIDEO in the post. Text only posts generate very little response
Todd
Hmm, interesting. On my personal profile, I can get quite response on posts and photos, but A lot of my posts on my Facebook page don't seem to get much of a response. In fact new song announcements tend to have the worst response of all. Is there something behind this
My page:https://facebook.com/TakaPerryMusic
I think that I am somehow having the same problem By this I mean that my personal artist page doesn't receive as much attention as I would like it to. On the other hand, I haven't quite took enough time to post there that often and somehow, I don't know how, I managed to make people expect news on my personal profile. I will dig more into this after the new Days of Confusion video release and let you know what I think we should do. If you discover something, please post here as well
It's just the FB works. It makes FB page owners promote their posts. :/
Found a site that could be useful, it's called PayWithATweet:
http://www.paywithatweet.com/
You give a download link that people have access to after tweeting on Twitter or sharing on Facebook.
All it takes is one person to get the viral ball rolling.
Quickie about a new social media service called "KLOUT". I know what your thinking already, "Good night, yet another social media time suck!" and I feel your pain!! The good news is that klout is really just a way to measure your impact on the social networks you are involved in.
DISCLAIMER: ONLY FOR FOLKS INTERESTED IN LEVERAGING SOCIAL MEDIA TO INCREASE VIEWS/LISTENS!!
So then, go join up @ www.klout.com and link it to the social media that you use on a regular basis. Klout will then track the impact you are having on the networks you inhabit. You will then get a "KLOUT RANK".
The ONLY reason the klout rank number matters is that biz folks see it as a "Hard Metric", meaning a number that can't be faked. You either have X amount of "reach" on social media, or you don't. So when approaching a vendor/manufacturer, this can be part of your arsenal of data to show why it's worth it for them to send you free stuff.
Here is my KLOUT SCORE
not a ground breaking score, but in the top 20% of "influencers" which is something you can point to when establishing you/your brand to anyone your trying to pitch.
Here is a breakdown of my social networks.
A handy chart showing where I have the most "reach". These types of "metrics" are becoming more and more important and as more and more folks establish themselves online. So steak your claim and watch your metrics!!
Todd
Hey Todd Thanks for the tip man!
I was thinking that I could add this sort of metric to my presskit as an artist, each time I am approaching a potential partner/ company and so on. But keeping it as a dynamic info, updating that certain page each time I send a kit.
Bingo!! Adding any hard data/metrics to a press kit is a good idea. Being able to quantify the eyes/ears is very important. Investors in many cases are less interested in perceived talent and more interested in the numbers. Being able to show a quantifiable audience is a very good thing
Todd
We are meeting Monster - the energy drink and Jack Daniel's next week, in order to discuss a collaboration/sponsorship contract. I am working on building a sponsoring request which will most likely contain the stats regarding Days of Confusion's exposure. I will keep you updated and I will most certainly try to use this - especially if it provides a shiny looking report that those 'number' oriented people like to look at Thanks again Todd!
Congrats! I hope the meeting go well Many corporate folks are aware of the importance of social media and they respond well to hard data/metrics. So the more hard number you can show, unique visitors per month, streams per month, impressions per month, fans, likes, shares, the better
Todd
Quick tip!!! Make sure to link your SOCIAL MEDIA on your youtube page!! You can link your Facebook Fan Page, Soundcloud page, instagram feed, and twitter account right on the front of your youtube channel page The little icons will show up and look spiff
Just go to your youtube account and click on 'EDIT LINKS' on the right side of your banner. If you don't have a banner, MAKE ONE!!!
Good question! If you guys don't have a youtube channel, go make one If you do have one, connect your other social media to it. It's very easy
Thanks for the statistics Todd! You know, there's a funny story - I was talking to Ian Kenny from Karnivool last Friday and I asked him: Ian, if you could change one thing about music industry nowadays, what would that one thing be?
You know what he said?
'Mate, I'd destroy the internet...'
On one hand, I understand him one the other, I don't - I found out about their music 8 years ago online But I sure do understand his problem with piracy - even if they are absolutely stellar musicians, they struggle for a living.
Destroy the internet!! Got a huge giggle on that one I can see how it can have a big negative impact on sales so I get it to some degree of course. But like you, I find most of my music online, not to mention GMC is online Without the web, I would not be able to be part of this great community of players so I vote we keep it plugged in
I understand his frustration though. I read another study confirming that digital pennies will never make up for analogue dollars. Bands that could earn a living prior to the web are being cut out of the middle. Which should emphasize what we have talked about in this very thread, the need to organize multiple revenue streams, since unit sales are not gonna do it for most bands.
They are very cool folks and amazing musicians. Their sonic knowledge and level of exploration has gotten them very far and I really do think that they have just begun to grow, really.
They still live off touring, so life is not that easy, when you have to sit in the nightliner all the time and earn your cash little by little, so showing a bit of compassion for them is the right thing to do - even if it sounds weird at first That's why I tried not to be intrusive, regardless of how friendly they were.
In case you needed any proof that that STREAMING IS THE FUTURE of the Music Business as a "Business", ........
Those unable to adapt in any system, are the first ones to lose out. So ADAPT! Get your music on as many streaming services as humanly possible. Don't do it for the money. THERE"S NONE TO BE HAD! Do it for the same reason you keep a youtube channel. It's one more step in getting people to know who you are and what your music is all about!!
At this point, you main stumbling block is ANONYMITY!! E.G. Nobody knows or cares who you are or what your music is about. So that's the thing to fix first! Once you crack the shell and get some recognition, then the real effort begins! GO!
Todd
BINGO!!! SPOTIFY is HUGE in europe and growing like a weed here!
Also, theres
1.)YOUTUBE (most folks discover new music on youtube believe it or not so making lyric videos or picture vids or music vids of EVERY SONG YOU HAVE is a great idea!)
2.)PANDORA (one of the biggest streaming sites)
3.)BEATS (Dr. Dre's new outing is growing fast and has tie ins with cell phone vendors)
4.)LAST FM (another great resource to share your music on!)
5.)ITUNES (they are making the switch from file based to streaming!)
That's enough to get folks going Each one of these is different in terms of getting your music on. You'll have to approach each, and do your research. It's a constantly changing landscape so change with it!
Todd
Great to know about Spotify! We are also on iTunes, Amazon and Deezer with both the 'Seeds' EP and the 'Bloodstream' single.
We are currently discussing if signing with Universal is really a good thing for the band - they don't seem to be offering anything but the distribution and the physical production of the CDs. We can do that for about 1300 bucks - 500 pieces. I wouldn't tie the band up for 5 years with a contract for that kind of money if you ask me... Sponsorship or crowdfunding sounds more likely as an option to me
I agree The major lables are now offering deal to many folks which amount to "pay to play" just to keep their infrastructure moving along. Since you have nothing to lose, don't be afraid to ask for the Sun and the Moon with Universal As they say "He who cares least, prospers most in a negotiation"
Todd
Hey Todd - great approach here
Any of you guys owning a piece of gear that you are using and that you like - why not make a video showcasing the ways in which it improves your playing and then, maybe even post it on the producers page If you make a habit out of it, most likely they will notice and if they like the vids... well, as Todd very well stated, the possibilities could become very interesting
Yup! Also, TAGGING is VERY VERY Important. When you post something on facebook, TAG IT!! E.G. if you have an IBANEZ guitar in your vid, or picture, or whatev, tag it on facebook and mention the word in your post. On youtube, put the word in the key words section. Make sure it's easy to find Vendors routinely search their own brands on social media.
Nicely done!! This is a great example of what I"m talking about
I wanted to share a recent facebook analytic. My recent share/post from FACXEBOOK. I always try to focus any "Paid Posting" in areas of the world where I"ve gotten some traction in the past. In this case, all the countries in this list have worked for me in the past. Notice the breakdown between countries.
The united states is entirely absent.
GETTING YOUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL GOING!
Leveraging Your Youtube Channel Part 1
Your channel is a place where viewers can go and find something they want to watch now and later. You will want your viewers to subscribe to your channel so they’ll come back and watch the content you’re uploading.Here are some tips!
*Subscribers watch more
Subscribers are your biggest fans and are critical to your success on YouTube! If you create original content, gaining subscribers can be the best and fastest way to increase watch time and views.
Subscribers spend more time watching videos on YouTube than your casual visitor or someone who watches embedded YouTube videos through other sites. They also tend to be responsible for many more views on a new video than non-subscribers, especially right after you upload that video. This is a critical moment for a video to increase its watch time.
So how can you get more subscribers? You will want to set up your channel in a way that helps people subscribe and create content that keeps them coming back for more. In short, always be on the path of increasing the quality of your vids in terms of how they look, how they sound, and how they grab and keep audience. If humor is your gift, make use of it. If technique is your thing, make use of that. Make your channel unique. Give people a reason to subscribe and give them reminders often with SUBSCRIBE buttons and such
Watch time is golden :
Leveraging Your Youtube Channel Part 2
*How long people watch your vids, determines if more of yours get suggested to them
In the past, the number of views on a video drove its discovery and rank. Videos getting the most clicks were rewarded, rather than those that held the longest viewer attention. Now, YouTube looks at watch time - the actual amount of time people spend watching your videos - rather than only the number of views, as a more accurate gauge of how a video performs. Views only show the number of times a video was accessed, but not how much of the video was watched.
YouTube suggests videos in search and recommendations that are likely to increase how much overall time a viewer spends watching and uses watch time to improve the ranking of videos in search and recommendations. If people click on your videos and stick around to watch, your videos are more likely to appear more often in suggested and recommended videos and growth in new views could increase. If your videos drive more watch time or inspire your viewers to check out a related video (either yours or someone else’s) your channel gets an advantage!
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The bottom line is that youtube has changed how it ranks your vids. It now matters quite a bit how much of a given video of yours was watched. If someone watches most of a given video of yours, you get higher rank in terms of another video of yours being suggested for the viewer to watch next. So dig in to your "YOUTUBE ANALYTICS" and find out how long each video is being watched. If you have a lot of 5 minute videos, that are only being watched for 2 minutes, you can actually LOSE position and not have your other vids suggested to viewers
https://www.youtube.com/analytics
Get that click: Part III
Check out a few ways that you can entice viewers to watch your videos and subscribe.
Create a compelling channel trailer to encourage those unfamiliar with your channel to subscribe.
Update your branding to ensure your channel looks good across all devices and that you are sending a consistent message about your content to potential subscribers.
Tell a story with your thumbnails, title, and description so your viewers know what your video is about.
Include a call to action in your video encouraging viewers to subscribe (both using a verbal cue and visual cue). Take advantage of annotations.
Review your YouTube analytics views report to find out where your traffic is coming from, who your viewers are, and how long they’re watching.
Experiment. Try cross-promoting with other channels your subscribers are interested in.
Remember that you still need good content. If you don’t have anything people want to watch, well, people won’t stay. And, longer watch time does not mean you need to make longer videos - if you have a four minute video idea, keep it four minutes long and make sure to follow best practices for making engaging content. By making videos that your viewers want more of, and by optimizing your channel to help viewers find and watch more of the content they like, you’ll likely see increased subscriptions, recommendations, and more!
Youtube is a great way to find out who is enjoying your creative work. I'd say put EVERYTHING you've ever done on youtube. Take your songs, put a picture with them if needed, and export them as video and upload them. Do this about once a week or so. You can then use the youtube analytics page to see who is watching and from where and for how long. This info can help you tweak your videos to gain a pinch more exposure to a Global audience.
People will be able to find your music from all over the world which is just a wonderful thing Here is an example vid of a review I did for a micro amp. Reviews do tend to do better, for many, than just songs, so I'd say do both!! One can benefit the other. Here is the analytics breakdown. Notice how many countries around the world are watching this one little vid.
Our resident wiki God FRAN has taken all the info from this thread and condensed it in to a Wiki Page!!! Much easier to read through IMHO. Here is the link and Fran, once again you RAWWWWKK!!
https://www.guitarmasterclass.net/wiki/index.php/Promoting_Your_Playing_And_Your_Music
Anytime Todd
Edit: I'll add some more interesting stuff from this thread into the wiki article. There are loads of great posts here.
Good work, Fran
I still wonder why the wiki isn't more present in the website layout. Or am I blind?
Good point! It used to be linked on the front page but now I doing see it either?
Todd
I honestly think it would great if it was present in the forum as well, maybe in the top menu? But I don't know how visited the wiki is in general, but there may be a reason for that (that it's not too visible).
I think the only reason is that they ran out of block graphics to link to it on the first page. Maybe email KRIS and Mention it as he really is great about responding to the desires of GMC members.
KILLER Video that breaks down HOW TO MAKE A LIVING IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY "TODAY"
If you don't want/need to earn money from your music, GOD BLESS YOU. This post/vid is not for you. However, if you are hoping to either transition to music as a full time gig, or just want to start building an income with music, here is how you start
Here are her TOP FIVE THINGS TO DO.
Here is an interview with her, with more info.
The very cool folks over @ iConnectivity (I've been using one of their audio interfaces, the iConnectivity4+ lately) have been so kind as to feature me in their Blog!!
http://www.iconnectivity.com/blog/todd-simpson-shreds-his-iconnectaudio4
This brings me to a good point about "self promotion". If there is a bit of gear/kit that you have, that you like, and use all the time, reach out to the folks that make it. Tell them how great it is and that you'd love to help them spread the word about it in any way you can. Offer to help, essentially If you have any kind of traction on social media, they will usually respond right away. Even if you don't have any real traction on social media, reach out all the same. They may feature you on their social media and just that can get you some good exposure to new potential fans who might otherwise have never seen you .
If you don't yet have a REVERBNATION.com account to help promote your music and yourself as a player, it's time to make one! It's easy to do, it's free and yet another way for folks to connect with you and your music. Don't be shy Share any music you are proud of, collab, solo, etc. Have your promo in place for 2017 and here's to hoping it's a great year
http://bit.ly/divinusmortus_reverbnation
Soundclound.com offers two paid options, one is 7 bux a month and one is 15. I'm going to try the 15 a month for a while to see how it goes as it gives very detailed stats on who listened to your tracks and where they are coming from. This would allow a musician to be able to tailor his music a bit for the audience he/she is actually serving. I had no idea that I was big in INDONESIA. The stats were almost shocking, France, Brazil, big fans. Who knew? It also shows the web site where your traffic is coming from. Lots of mine is from GMC, no shock there. A good bit is straight google from other countries around the world.
GREAT vid about how to get started reviewing gear for various companies, even if you are just starting out. Some very good advice.
TYPICAL FOUR WEEK PERIOD ON A "PARTNER" YOUTUBE ACCOUNT: E.G. MAKING MONEY ON YOUTUBE?
Here is a screen grab from a typical 28 day cycle on my youtube account. Keep in mind that I DON"T use "Pre Roll ads" (these are the adverts that roll before a vid that you can't skip and that I HATE, they make the most money.) I also avoid any ads other than the small box graphic ads that you can easily click away from. The only way to make money on youtube imho is to use wads of ads. However, unless you are OLA ENGLUND reviewing an amp that costs more than my car, most folks won't wait, they will just click off, so you have to find a balance. Anyhoo!! Here it is
Getting some traction on Instagram (really any social media). I made sure to put my Hotone Audio pedalboard in the background of the latest Gabe colllab solo that I did and tagged the video on instagram (also put it on youtube and facebook) and Hotone Audio re "grammed" it and put it in their instagram feed. As soon as they did that, the view count shot up and I started getting wads more traction on the vid. I'm using a vintage Ibby so I also posted it in the Ibby users facebook group where it also got very nice traction/eyeballs.
All this is to say, once you make a vid you like, think about "crosspolinating" it to social media and make sure to try to put something in the shot that will encourage a bigger fish to repost/share it. If you have a Mesa Amp, put the Mesa amp in the shot and tag the pic #mesaboogie and the folks at boogie may repost it on their feed. Just another way to leverage social media and take advantage of videos that you already have in the can
Here is the hotone repost
NEW Youtube Handy Bits! Youtube has added something called
"END SCREEN AND ANNOTATIONS" that lets you pick a couple of your own vids and a picture/button for folks to click to subscribe to your channel. You used to have to do this by hand and it was a bit of a pain. Now there are templates for it. That way, at the end of your vid, you can link two more vids that are related and thus keep folks watching your content. Also you get a button that allows them to subscribe.Just pick your template and bam!
One way to get on Spotify and other services is through something called TUNE CORE. It's not free but it is cheap. I've looked through most of these and so far I like this one best. If anyone else has another option please do share!!!
www.tunecore.com
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Here’s some of the awesome stuff you get through TuneCore:
Worldwide digital distribution to over 150 stores, including iTunes, Spotify, and Google Play
Pre-orders for iTunes & Google Play
Daily Trend Reports to keep a day-to-day eye on your sales in Spotify, iTunes, and Amazon.
TuneCore’s commitment has always been to our artists. That’s why we never take a percentage of your sales, and never withhold any of your distribution rights.
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Another way is through REVERBNATION.com for $1 per song, they will let you pick six streaming services (spotify etc.) to stream your spiff song through smile.gif
The price was so good, that I put my recent collab with Hamin from Iran on reverbnation to see how it does.
Also, it's not very hard to get a ranked position on reverbnation.com, and its something you can add to your social media, and press kit etc. To show how easy it is, I'm currently ranked in the Top 10.
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Let's Not forget CDBABY.com !! As RAMMIKIN pointed out, they have a one time fee for releasing albums instead of a fee per year!
Here is some info from Rammikin
Has reverbnation fixed their 8 mb limit for songs? That was always a problem for me.
At the moment, it seems you still have to pay 13 bucks a month to upload anything over 8 mb.
I just uploaded an MP3 as that's the most often streamed format and mine was not that long. But I can see how it would be a huge problem for you as you have songs that are 30 minutes long! I do think you have have to pay extra for big files from what I remember reading. However, as was mentioned in another thread there is always CDbaby.com !
Here is some pricing info from Rammikin
True
A quick googling revealed CD baby will let you upload a 290 MB file as a single for $9.99, it looks like it's good forever if I'm reading it correctly, which is great deal!
https://members.cdbaby.com/cd-baby-cost.aspx
Also, it's perpetual, so CDbaby don't charge each year to keep it up. They just take a 9 percent rake on sales, if there are any sales. Sadly,
In 2011: 94% of digital tracks in 2011 (that’s 7.5 million tracks) sold fewer than 100 units, and an astonishing 32% sold only one copy.
http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2013/11/youre-losing-money-why-a-vast-majority-of-artists-should-not-use-tunecore.html
Putting music online is really more of a promotional tool than a sales tool until you reach a certain critical mass. Until then, it can costs you wads of money with some services to just keep them up even if nobody is buying.. That's one cool thing about CDbaby, you just pay once.
Spotify is offering a way to listen to high quality files but the cost is quite an increase. Most streaming services offer the basic plan with compressed streaming. So unless your subscribers are willing to pay the exra to hear music in higher quality, it won't matter what quality you submit the file at, they will hear it squashed.
Here is a link to what spotify is doing to offer better stream quailty. Each vendor has a different pricing model, they all have their ups/downs. As bandwidth increases on mobile networks, I have no doubt we will see a move toward higher resolution audio. The same way we saw an increase in the quality of streamed video as available bandwidth increased.
https://www.theverge.com/2017/4/5/15168340/lossless-audio-music-compression-test-spotify-hi-fi-tidal
I'm not sure whether you are looking for higher resolution, bigger file size or both? At the current state of affairs, each vendor has their own pricing plan so each one is worth looking in to. Your case is a bit unique just due to length of songs. Given the plethora of vendors a bit of research should turn up at least one willing to stream long files without price gouging. Same with increase in bandwidth, increases in service side storage will take costs down as well. In a couple/few years, longer songs, higher resolutions, will probably be part of the standard package for most vendors I'd wager.
Todd
Reverbnation.com runs promotions where they claim that your music will get seen by Record Label people who are just stoked about signing somebody from reverbnation, supposedly. They are often free to submit to. I just submitted to one of them today. Have you guys ever tried something like this and did anyone get any traction from it? I"m trying to blaze a trail and save folks the drama of being scammed so I'm neck deep in seeing if this stuff is real.
I've submitted music to WADS of these things on reverbnation. I"ll let you guys know if any of them get any traction.
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