Sell Your Music Online

Sell Your Music : How To Profitably Sell Your Own Recordings Online
by Mark W. Curran

Paperback: 198 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.50 x 8.75 x 5.75
Publisher: NMD Books
http://www.nmdbooks.com
Edition: 2nd
ISBN: 978-0-9706773-6-5
List: $17.95

Book Description

This book shows you in easy, step by step format, how to profitably sell your own recordings online. You'll read in-depth interviews, tips and tricks from independent musicians who have made thousands of dollars selling their music from home! Includes up to date lists and websites where you can promote your music for free, plus a bonus user guide on setting up your own home recording studio.

REVIEWS:

From The Critics

Booknews

Shows how to make money selling one's own music on the Internet, with advice on recording and selling music from home, designing a music sales Web site, becoming a guerilla music publicist, forming an online record label, and getting free publicity from TV, radio, print, and Internet media. Also gives instructions for setting up a home-based digital music studio. Appendixes list merchant account sources, music publications, online music sites, and indie music organizations, and explain Usenet, search engine placement, writing press releases, and Internet radio. The author is a music marketing consultant. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) (Barnes & Noble)

The Midwest Book Review

Written by a recognized expert in online music marketing, Mark Curran's Sell Your Music: How To Profitably Sell Your Own Recordings Online is a comprehensive, user-friendly, step by step guide to using the Internet in order to make money from your own music. Sell Your Music contains extensive interviews with independent musicians who have made thousands of dollars, as well as tips, tricks, and techniques to reaching your target market and maximizing your profits while minimizing hassle. Highly recommended for all aspiring performers whether they are soloists or band members. (Midwest Book Review)

Customer Reviews

"Extremely Useful Book! This book doesn't beat around the bush it gets right down to brass tacks of selling your own music over the internet. Curran covers all the bases, and gives detailed instructions, with plenty of diagrams. Easy to read, a great book." - Ramsay Hogan, a musician from Rhode Island, June 11, 2003 (Barnes & Noble)

"This is a fantastic book I would recommend to any level of musician."

- Faith Rivera, Recording Artist, Emmy & Grammy Award Nominee (Amazon)

"Two thumbs up on an incredible book. Curran is a music marketing genius."

- Gary Roman, Rock Group Romulus (Baker & Taylor)

- "Curran leaves no stone unturned in his methodology for finding and marketing to an online audience" - Jeffrey Coronado - Alternative Music Press

http://www.nmdbooks.com

Your Music Marketing Business Strategy

The essential information is here for you. Take advantage of this
information, but I must issue one simple but essential caveat:
None of the marketing methods described in this book will work
unless they are applied, and applied on a consistent basis. If online
music marketing is treated and worked like a business by the
independent musician, these methods will serve as building blocks to
a satisfying and profitable career as a self-employed musician.
But all things of value come at a cost.

It takes a great deal of time and hard work to make any business work, and direct distribution over the Internet is no exception. Give up the idea of instant wealth and easy money now, and you will not be disappointed later.

The bottom line is that it takes motivation, sweat, hard work, persistence,
and a certain measure of luck to make it in the music business. The
competition is staggering. The odds against great success are
overwhelming.

The independent musician must have a well-defined marketing plan, and he must apply the plan daily. Armed with the proper tools, you will be well equipped in your journey of spreading your music to the world.

Use this book as a tool kit, a weapon in your arsenal to achieve your
musical dreams. Experiment with the methods in this book and test your
own methods.

Selling Your Music Online

This book was prompted by my discovery that very little had been written
about specific strategies and methods of direct marketing independent music through the Internet. Given the growth of such direct music
marketing sites as MP3.com and the amazing popularity of the MP3 format among the general Web population, it was obvious that the time had come for such a book.


Thus began a long period of research and practical application.
Success in the creative arts has always boiled down to the economics of
distribution. The cost of distribution forces the distribution entity to become highly selective when choosing artists to fill the pipeline.


This has left over 99% of the artists creating product without a proper
distribution channel. Sadly, much of the world’s greatest music has been
left unheard.


Then the Internet arrived, and technology supplied a new distribution
channel.


It is now possible for the independent musician to take control of his own
destiny, to distribute his own product.


Now it is possible to produce master quality demos in the home, and market them directly to the consumer, for next to no cost. This simple fact has one of the largest industries in the world up in arms, and has created shock waves in every aspect of the music business.


This is as it should be, because innovations in popular music have always
shaken up the status quo.


This book discusses the techniques I have used in marketing my own music directly to consumers. The book also outlines the experiences of others who have successfully marketed music online.

http://www,nmdbooks.com/

USING INTERNET RADIO TO MARKET YOUR MUSIC By Mark W. Curran

USING INTERNET RADIO TO MARKET YOUR MUSIC By Mark W. Curran

One of the biggest growth areas for online music, internet radio stations are proliferating by the hundreds. These are basically online areas where people can go to listen to independent music programming that is not controlled by advertisers and commercial interests.

IR can take on many formats and forms, but essentially any station that plays indie music is a good target for your marketing efforts. Some stations play only certain types of music, so make sure your music is the right fit before e-mailing them or submitting material. Many online radio stations have an online method set up for you to submit your material, but some do not.

You should make an attempt to always make your initial contact through e-mail, if possible. By contacting the radio station via e-mail, you are looking to establish a contact there for your contact list. Your first contact method should be a brief letter of introduction, with links to your website for the radio contact to view your online press kit, as well as the listen to a few of your songs.

You should send a follow up 1-2 weeks later, thanking them for taking the time to review your materials, and if they would be open to having you add them to your contact database and mailing list. By keeping careful notes in your database, you will be able to build a very effective marketing list of online radio stations to market your material to.

Online Radio Station Marketing Methods Let the station owner know you want to take an active part in promoting your music online, and that you would be willing to offer him content, (your music) in exchange for promotional consideration.

Direct him to your online EPK to make a further positive impression. Offer to do live or taped interviews, live audio/video performances, call-in periods, contests, giveaways, even host a segement of the show in the genre of your own music.

You might even be able to get he station owner to trade you some banner advertising space for your efforts. Even if you don't get the banner space, by going on a program that has high visibility, you will be getting free exposure, and that is the key to using online media for promotion.

Make sure you make it clear to the listeners that your music is for sale, and where they can get it. Online radio is an excellent way to build a following. It is also a great place to send your ad specialties, like T-shirts, mouse pads, screen savers, and a promo copy of your CD. Getting your name in front of the site owner and keeping it there - that is your primary objective.

Rating the online stations in order of their importance means getting statistics on how many hits they are getting from listeners. This is not always simple to do, and in some cases, unless they have hit counters and published statistics, you may have to rely on popularity lists.

One of the best sources for online radio stations can be found at:

http://wmbr.mit.edu/stations/list.html

This list includes brick and mortar radio stations that have websites, as well as streaming radio stations, so it takes a bit of research to find only the stations that feature online radio, however, it is not a bad idea to contact brick and mortar radio stations.

Many of these stations are open to receiving indie music, particularly college radio, so do not discount them in your promotions. The fact you can reach them online qualifies them for your contact list, as long as they feature your genre of music, and are open to receiving materials about new artists online. ============================================= Mark W. Curran is a recognized expert in online music marketing, and author of the book "Sell Your Music: How To Profitably Sell Your Music Online" He has authored many articles on the subject, and currently runs a music marketing consulting company in Los Angeles. http://www.nmdbooks.com/author.html ============================================