Promotion
GarageBand.com: [MP3 PROMOTION, CD DISTRIBUTION] "Think you have what it takes?" This phrase pretty much sums it up. This globally-recognized platform provides a truly unbiased opportunity for artists to prove their claims of superiority. It uses listener ratings to discover the best emerging music. Thirteen of GarageBand.com’s top bands have been signed by major labels, and many more have scored licensing deals (as a matter of opinion, this might even be better than a major label record deal). At the very least, we feel that participation in this site’s contests and ongoing competition will probably boost your Web site traffic and increase your overall exposure exponentially. Competition categories include Alternative, Blues, Dance, Electronic, Folk/Country, Funk/Soul/R&B, Hard Rock, Jazz, Metal, Pop, Pop/Rock, Punk Rock, Rap-Rock, Rap/Hip-Hop, and Rock. Knock ‘em dead! If people like what they hear, they can also buy your CD.
CornerBand.com: [MP3 PROMOTION] Give a song away, get exposure to 150 million people world-wide via Kazaa. This is a safe method of getting your music cross-referenced with famous artists in client searches on Kazaa with without attracting the attention of the RIAA. You see, if you do this yourself, the RIAA might unwittingly take you for a law-breaking copyright infringer, mistaking your song as one belonging to an artist they represent. But, by going through CornerBand.com, you avoid this potential problem altogether. Also, your songs are protected using Microsoft’s Digital Rights Management technology. Cool. Signup is free.
WARNING: Beware of the CD distribution offer. MusicDistribution.com has stated that CDStreet has not been paying its artists regularly or on time, so they have been removed from their recommended sites (please note that our recommendations differ from theirs in many cases and we do not endorse the same services and companies that they do). We suggest using CornerBand.com only as a promotional launch pad for sharing your music and stick with TuneCore.com for actual digital distribution.
Obviously, don’t upload all your songs. Pick one to sacrifice to the MP3 gods and leave it at that, or just upload a bunch of partial songs that are half of the full length. Don’t forget to put all your relevant meta data in your MP3 before uploading, or you’ll be missing out on a lot of free promotion. Pack the MP3 with as much data about you as you can. Use iTunes on a Mac or PC to encode this information and rip the MP3. (Use MP3 and not AAC in this case. AAC is higher compression quality but not a universal standard yet and not compatible with CornerBand.com.) iTunes is a free application available at Apple.com. You can also use WinAmp.
SoundClick.com: [MP3 PROMOTION] Another ratings-driven Web site with a link option to your own Web site (record sales anyone?). Free service, but there are additional features you can add on for a fee (we haven’t looked into those).
FestivalProductions.net: [TALENT SUBMISSION OPPORTUNITIES, SHAMELESS LIVE SELF-PROMOTION] Festival Productions, Inc. provides access to well over a dozen different festivals including the Newport Folk Festival, Essence Music Festival, Hampton Jazz Festival, JVC Festival, Playboy Jazz Festival and many others. The opportunity is there for you to pursue—no secret handshake required.
Music Submit: [PRESS RELEASE SERVICE] Music Submit sends your materials electronically to TARGETED resources that match your style of music, saving you hundreds of hours and dollars because you don’t have to do the research or send out press kits. Pricing is tiered so that getting started costs very little.
Suggest another resource! We’ll review it and include it if we feel it adds value.