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Google is constantly developing nifty applications and technologies to enhance the way we communicate and work online.  Because Google survives on advertising revenues these products are all offered at the amazingly low low price of FREE.  As a musician in a rather competitive market, it’s important to know and use tools that increase the efficiency of your marketing, managing, and networking efforts.  The goal is less time pulling your hair out in front of the computer screen and more time making beautiful music!

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So you sent out a hundred or two press packs to various newspapers, blogs, podcasts and internet radio stations. Now what? Well, following up is certainly in your best interest, but you might be surprised at how many people will start reviewing your album or playing it on their show without letting you know first. The best way to make sure you catch every press write-up or album review (or even just fans talking about you online) is to use Google Alerts. With Google Alerts, you’ll receive an email any time Google indexes a new instance or mention of your band or artist name on the web. (You can adjust your settings to specify how often you get emailed.) Here are some of the things you can use Google alerts to track . . .

Read more at the DIY Musician Blog

Lyric writing can be a frustrating, nail-biting, paper-crumpling experience.   Getting just the right words to conform to the cadence and rhythm of a musical piece is hard enough, let alone composing a gripping tale to woo the hearts and minds of your listeners.   Here are 8 tips to inspire and help you get through the roughs spots in lyric writing.
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Recently, I found myself in a situation most indie artists are probably familiar with.  I was going to record an album and had no idea how I was going to pay for it.

Despite the fact that recording has become a much more affordable medium over the past decade, it still costs a considerable amount to produce a quality recording.  Even if you borrow, beg, or steal in order to secure free recording time, there’s still the mixing, mastering, and manufacturing costs.

There’s been a lot written recently about “crowd funding,”  a term born of another internet buzz word “crowd sourcing.”  Crowd funding is as simple as it sounds.  It simply means to fund a project by gaining small donations from a large group of people.

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Lets say you have a concert in two weeks. How would you normally advertise such a thing? Word of mouth? Handbills? Posters on phone poles? Ads in newspapers? Text messages to your friends? Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter Posts? An email blast? Writing a blog post?

Self promotion can be a lot of work. Sometimes all we have time for is a few email reminders, a post on MySpace and a text message on the day of the show.

Given the limited time and energy you have to advertise for a gig, what’s the most effective way to spend your energy?

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Mark Twain’s quote that “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics” comes to mind as I compose this article.  Statistics is an elastic science and when approaching the stats for your website it’s hard to know how to interpret all the numbers and then use those numbers to inform your marketing efforts.

Let’s avoid an in-depth analysis of web stats and leave that to Wikipedia. What I do want to explain are some of the basics and clear up common confusion regarding the concept of a website ‘hit’.
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Stream your concerts to the world!

Getting out on the road to build an audience is a constant struggle for the average indie artist. Limitations on time, money, and resources are all huge hurdles to overcome. But what if you could take your show around the world without moving a single guitar amp or eating another drive-thru meal? Now you can!

Indie artists like Matthew Ebel have harnessed the power of online services like UStream to accomplish just that. Each week, Matthew performs live via UStream without leaving the comfort of his very own basement. Internet audience members congregate (in the virtual sense) from all points around the globe to watch his homespun concert broadcasts. In the full-length audio interview, Matthew goes into great detail concerning some of the technical aspects of how he produces a UStream show. If this piques your interest, you can listen to the episode in its entirety at http://cdbabypodcast.com or subscribe in the iTunes podcast directory. Read the rest of this entry »

Jimmy Fallon’s best role yet!

HostBaby has recently launched a new blog page feature in the HostBaby Wizard.  More on that here.

What better time to address how musicians can use a blog to advance their career then right now?

Most of you know that a blog (short for web log) is a web page that allows articles, videos, and pictures to be posted in a journal-like format. Blogs also typically allow users to leave comments and therefore are a great way to interact with fans.
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Music is one of the few products that is consumed before it’s purchased.  People rarely buy music without having heard it first. 

Radio is an excellent example of this.  People listen to songs on the radio over and over and yet they still feel inspired to purchase the album or single. Music has an addictive quality which creeps slowly into our consciousness until it becomes an indispensable part of who we are. This is why it’s so important to allow your fans access to your music before they purchase it.  Let them build a relationship with your tunes and they will be much more likely to spend money on your merchandise.

This is also why live shows are such a great place to sell albums.  Your audience hears the music, forms an emotional and/or nostalgic connection to it, and then feels compelled to own the music which gave them the experience in the first place.

Protecting your music from the public before it is purchased will inevitably mean fewer sales. Now I’m not necessarily suggesting you give it all away for free, but offering selected ‘free tracks’ is a great way to create long lasting fans who will repay your generosity by going to your shows and purchasing your products.

How you present your free tracks is also of great importance. Make sure that your fans understand that you are giving them something special, exclusive, and personal.  A great way to do this is by using the age-old barter system.  Offer your fans a free track if they sign up to your mailing list. Offer them a free track if they can guess your favorite ice cream. Give them a free track if they give you a shout-out on twitter. Give them a free track if they show up to your concert. This will benefit your marketing efforts, your interactions with your fans, and it will increase the value which fans assign to your music.  ‘Something for nothing’ is never as satisfying as getting something ‘free’ that requires a little footwork.

Check out this tutorial for placing a free Mp3 into your ListBaby sign-up form using the HostBaby Wizard.