Top 5 Things the Digital Music Age Wonât Tell Youâ¦But We Will

In an age where listening to your fave band or artist is as simple as clicking the “buy now” button on iTunes, it becomes even more imperative that aspiring artists and musicians understand the ins and outs of the digital ageâ€"good and bad. Although brick-and-mortar stores that sell CD’s are still the “crème de la crème” in most artists’ eyes, the fact of the matter is that we need to make the psychological shift to embrace the digital age.

Gone are the days when the mark of a musician’s talent was whether or not she was placed on the “top artists” shelf at Tower Recordsâ€"now it’s all about “digital visibility.” With that, however, come several risks that were not at play before, and several things you can do to make sure that the digital age becomes your best friend, as opposed to your worst enemy.


1. Copyright

Due to the mass exploitation of the Internet, now more than ever it’s important to copyrig! ht your songs. People â€" good and bad â€" now have access to download your songs, listen to them and share them… or in some cases, distribute them as their own. So it’s incredibly important to make sure you copyright your songs. If there’s one thing you should take away from this article, it is this: copyright your songs. I can’t say that enough!

You can copyright your songs individually for around $35, or as a compilation/album, which is relatively cheaper. Check out this site for exact pricing: http://www.copyright.gov/docs/fees.html.

For more information on copyrights, visit: http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html


2: Distribute, Distribute, Distribute!

Before, it was all about finding a private distributor or a label to back you…now the ball is in your court--which means you have to be pro-active about finding distribution channels whereby potential fans (if you are a relatively new band) or tried-and-true ! fans can find you.

The fastest and cheapest way to ! do this: join as many social networks as you can and build your profile on each network. Here’s a good list to get you started:

• MySpace
• Facebook
• Bebo
• Hi5
• Twitter
• ReverbNation
• OurStage
• Friendster
• Buzznet


3. Manage Your Online Reputation

The best way to grow and keep your fan base is by understanding “fan behavior.” The best way to lose any momentum in the marketplace is to pretend you exist in a vacuum, continue making music that fans aren’t responding too, and ignore every request that comes your way.

To see what fans are saying about you, and to “manage your reputation,” sign up for Google or Yahoo Alerts. These are great tools to keep you posted every time a fan writes about you on their blog, or when you’ve been mentioned anywhere in the Internet world.

Another way to build and manage your reputation is by regularly co! ntributing to related message boards. These serve as great opportunities for you to get involved in your community; message boards will help you stay on top of your fan base.


4: Keep It Fresh

Traditionally, top artists are known for long interludes between albums. For Madonna and Britney Spears this works because it allows them to have 5 “comeback” albums before people catch on and a red-flag goes up. But for you, the indie artist, this is not the case (at least not yet).

So…the point is: you must continually keep fans engaged by creating fresh content. Whether it’s a new single piggy-backing on a holiday season or political scandal, a video of you playing at the Roxy, or just comments that you post on your blog, forum, or website…the only way to keep top of mind is to continually inundate fans and the market with fresh content. If it’s good, they’ll keep coming back for more!


5. Learn To Discern
One of the advantages of the digi-age is that there! is a to ol, software option, and gadget for almost anything and everything. While this can provide the means to be efficient with administrative and certain operational aspects of running your very own “music business,” the relationship with the fan reigns supreme.

In other words, you can automate some things, but relationship building and “fan-service” is only accomplished when the person on the other end is just thatâ€"a person. Don’t get too big for your britches: your fans are what got you to where you are….and they will either keep you there or watch you fall from grace.

Learn to discern when it’s ok to automate and when you need to inject your activities with a little TLC. And remember….Audiolife is always here to answer any questions you may have!


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http://www.Audiolife.com

Source: http://www.articletrader.com