Must Do MP3 Tags

I recently found this informative post from Dexter Bryant Jr. regarding the MP3 tags that you need to fill in to make sure that your song has enough information to be promoted properly.

Every MP3 released to the internet should have these ID3 fields completed. If you are an artist actively releasing and promoting your music online, make sure you’ve included the following data:

1. Artist Name – This name should be the REAL artist name or alias. One that can be found online should an interested listener want to search for more content by this artist.

2. Song Name - The song NEEDS to have a name. How can a listener email their friend and tell them about the song if it doesn’t have a name? How can fans talk about their favorite songs. Today’s music is a song culture and this is an MP3, it’s a SONG; give it a name and let it live.

3. Genre – Don’t make up some unique and strange genre for your music. As much as it pains artists to be lumped in with the mainstream genre names use a recognized ID3 genre tag. This tag gives listeners a reference of what to expect when they hear the song. If nothing else, it’s a good way of keeping your unique sound part of a collection that the listener may throw on when the mood suits.

4. Comments – Add a link to your website, or other online presence. Bonus if you add in a Creative Commons status. Beyond those 2 key items, this field is where the promotions REALLY happen. Add a unique factoid or something if you’re feeling creative.

5. Year – As much as some people don’t like having their music appear dated. Music is an evolution and has a history. Add the year the song was released. It helps give listeners a context, on when it was made.

6. Artwork – As much as music is about the song, the artwork is what we all see when we look at our MP3 player. Add something… Make it interesting and it might even become memorable to the listener.

Why ID3 tag the MP3 file? Because music and MP3 files are becoming the main currency of attention all artists have in common. Its the ideal gateway to listeners and the easiest way to convert those listeners to fans.

Even if you ignore the bulk of this post; every (artist released) MP3 file should have at minimum: Artist Name, Song Name, and A comment with the URL of their website or other online presence. Paying attention to this type of content monetization has a REAL value in raising the access and awareness an artist to fans and casual listeners. As listeners and fans collect more and more music, it is easy for a miss-tagged song to disappear into an MP3 collection. Filling out these ID3 fields allows listeners to easily search and organize the file within their own musical library.

originally posted on http://Lx7.ca

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Is Google TV The Future?

Last week Google introduced Google TV, and frankly, I can't wait. Why? Because it looks like Goggle TV will finally deliver on the promise of interactive television. If you've ever struggled with the sad attempts of your local cable company to implement interactive TV, your wait is finally over by the looks of it.

Set-tops boxes are so lame in that they're still running 1990's technology, complete with it's limitations. Doesn't it upset you that you can only get a 28 character or so description about a program? Don't you ever wish that you could find out more about the program you're watching without having to resort to going online with your computer? Don't you wish that you could watch all the video now on your computer on your big screen TV without having to be a nerd to hook everything up? Hopefully, this is what Google TV will do for us.

Watch this video explanation and then read Greg Sterling's Google TV FAQ from the Search Enginland website.

What is Google TV and when will it be available?

Google says that Google TV is an “open platform” that unites TV programming and the internet. It supports Flash and makes the “full internet” available in the living room on TVs. It will be available through set-top boxes and directly through “integrated” TV sets (the only one of which right now will be from Sony).

The search and browse capabilities, which integrate web and TV content side by side in results were impressive.

Will I have to buy a new TV?

No. Google TV is intended to work with existing TVs. Sony’s forthcoming TV doesn’t require a set-top box. However Logitech’s box will be available for existing sets.

Who are the partners involved at launch?

The initial group of companies involved in GTV include Intel (chip), Sony (TV), Logitech (set-top box), Best Buy (retailer), DISH Network (content provider with unique integration).

How will these devices be branded?

The branding of Google TV and related hardware devices will be highly analogous to the way Android handsets are presented (i.e., XX brand “with Google”). GTV is built on the Android platform (not ChromeOS).

Will it replace cable TV?

This is an interesting question to consider and one that will take time to answer. Users won’t need a cable TV subscription (though they will need WiFi in the home) to access GTV. So it’s at least possible that the web content and video, Netflix and Hulu that GTV offers via the internet could well substitute for a cable subscription.

Will Google TV “track” or collect data about me like online sites?

Google said that there will be the same privacy options (e.g., “incognito”) and controls for Google TV as there are via Chrome online (the TV browser is Chrome). But yes there will be tracking and data collection, partly for personalization and partly for ad ROI accountability and targeting.

What will it cost?

This is a critical question that Google and its partners declined to answer repeatedly.

Is it something I’ll want?

If Google TV performs and delivers as the demo, claims and screens suggest it will be a very desirable consumer product.

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The Circle Of Sales

The chart on the left comes from marketing guru Seth Godin's blog from a post entitled, The Circles. Seth relates the chart more to customer acquisition, but I want to use it as it's related to an artist's fanbase in regards to sales.

• At the bottom in white we have the "True Fans," sometimes described as "superfans," 'uber-fans,' or as Seth calls them, your "tribe." These fans love you and everything you do, and as a result, will purchase the most obscure product that is of no interest to virtually anyone else, even the artist himself.  Think rehearsal recordings, studio out-takes, sound check jamming and stained undershirts of the artist. The True Fan wants it and will pay for it.

• "Fans"are a bit more casual about it. They like you but don't love you. They'll buy certain items but could care less about anything obscure. They can be turned into True Fans, but it will happen either over time or the release of that one song that puts you over the edge.

We'll skip "Sneezers" and "Customers" because they don't apply to our model and go right to "Listeners."

• "Listeners" are the next down the totem pole of sales. These are people who have heard of you and maybe even heard some of your songs. They neither like nor dislike you. They may turn into fans at some point, but just as likely might not.

• Next comes "Friends." Notice how low in influence circles that your friends are at. Don't ever rely on them for sales or spreading the word. They're your friends. Like know you and hopefully like you, but it doesn't mean they like your music. In fact, most of them probably don't but will still support you because of your friendship. You probably don't have enough of them to make any significant sales impact anyway.

• Last comes "Strangers." They've never heard of you before. Maybe they like your kind of music, must most likely not. They are blissfully unaware of your existence as an artist.

Here's what we can gain from this chart:

1) Don't waste your time trying to convert friends to fans. It's such a long shot that it's not worth the time or effort, and can even be detrimental to keeping your True Fans happy.

2) Don't waste time on your friends. You don't have enough of them to worry about, and they're probably only being polite anyway.

3) Be aware of your listeners, but don't try to convert them to fans. The chances are it won't happen.

4) Fans are important. They already like you and have told you so, probably by buying product, signing up to your email list or friending you on a social media site. They can be turned into True fans, but at this point, you can't count on it so you can't spend a lot of effort trying.

5) Your True Fans love you. They will walk to the ends of the earth to tell others about you. They are your evangelists and will covert others into Fans and True Fans for you. They are to be embraced, coddled and cultivated because they are your future.

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The Myth Of "Distribution Is King"

Up until about the year 2000, it was pretty much a given that anyone who owned, controlled, or created content had the world at their feet. Without the movie, song, CD, DVD, television show, piece of art, book, poem or any other creative endeavor, what else was there to sell?

Somewhere in the last decade this concept has been twisted to where it's now popularly believed that content is not longer the essential part of commerce, but distribution is. I suspect that this idea has been perpetrated by marketers and the distributors themselves in an effort to increase their importance and obtain a bigger slice of the pie as a result.

Is distribution important? You bet it is. You can have a great product, but if you can't make it available to buy, then you won't have as many sales. But distributors overestimate their importance, and they're beginning to believe their own hype. If you have something that's really great, people will find their way to it, more so now than ever.

But the distributors will have you believe that you can have a great piece of content like a song, and it won't blow up (sell a lot) unless it has distribution. Or will it?

In the old days of Music 1.0 through 2.5 when the record label was essential to an artist's success and the fan only purchased physical product like vinyl records and CDs at a record store, distribution was a lot more important. There was only a single distribution channel and you had to abide by the system in order to get in it. But now that we're in Music 3.0 where the artist can communicate directly with the fan, I'd venture to say that distribution is LESS important than ever.

You want to distribute your songs online? There are at least a dozen online distributors besides iTunes that will do that for you, and if you don't want to use them you can go directly to your fans via email, social networking and your website.

You want radio airplay? Traditional broadcast radio that requires the big machine for placement is dying and turning to talk-radio, so you won't be played anyway. Plus it's now irrelevant because it's influence is at an all-time low and going lower. But there are hundreds of online radio stations that will gladly play your songs if they like them and they fit their formats, and there are dozens of streaming sites where you can list your music by yourself.

You want to distribute your product physically? You probably can't get it into most record stores, but so what? There are fewer and fewer of those every month anyway. But you can sell CDs and merch at gigs and personal appearances, which can amount to some big $$$ if you have the fanbase and visibility.

If anything, the viral nature of the Internet proves the point. Content is still king! People don't buy distribution, they buy content.

So don't believe the myth. After all, without content, what is there to distribute?

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Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.

A Giant List Of Keyword Search Tools - Part 2

As I said in the post from a couple of days ago, keywords are the key to being discovered on today's web. Here's Part 2 of a great list of keyword search tools that I came across on the Search Engine Land site. Check out some tips on how to best use your keywords in this previous post.

Topical/categorical

• GoRank Ontology Finder (Related Keywords Lookup Tool) – Checks the top 1000 Google results for your keywords by running a related word query. Not really for synonyms but rather other words in that topic.
• Google Trends – See search terms and activity around certain topics.
• With Google Insights for Search, you can compare search volume patterns across specific regions, categories, time frames and properties.
• Google Sets – Enter a few items from a set of things and Google will try to predict other items in the set. Can be handy to uncover terms related to your keywords.

Synonyms & word meanings

• Thesaurus.com – You can’t beat the basic thesaurus for finding terms.
• Princeton University’s WordNet lexicon tool goes beyond the thesaurus and really drives into the different meanings of specified words.
• Lexical FreeNet – A powerful tool that shows the relationship between words.

Typos and misspellings

• Keyword typo generator by SEO Book
• Produces misspelled text
• Keyword typo generator by SEO Chat

Keyword Manipulation

• SEO Tools Bad Keyword & Number Stripper – Use this tool to remove bad keywords from your keyword lists.
• AdWords Wrapper – Simply enter a list of keyword phrases and the Google AdWords Wrapper will turn it into 4 separate lists; a combination of broad, phrase and exact match, a combination of phrase and exact match, phrase match only, and exact match only.
• Jumbo Keyword tool – A myriad of features such as auto-lowercase, auto-dedupe, delete blank lines, create phrase, exact, and broad match versions of keywords. Make sure to click the advanced tab for the most options.
• iwebTools Quick Dedupe – Paste in a list of terms and it will quickly remove duplications

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5 Tips On How To Beat The Sales Odds

Market research company Nielsen Soundscan offered some interesting statistics at last week's NARM show (National Association of Recording Merchandisers) and they are indeed sobering if you're an artist.

• A total of 98,000 albums were released in 2009

• Only 2.1 percent of those managed to cross the 5,000 sales mark

• 2.5 million vinyl albums were sold in 2009 

What does this mean if you're a new band or an artist? First of all, you've got a tremendous amount of competition. It used to be that the average number releases was between 25 and 30,000 per year, which is still a huge number. Now we're talking about 3 to 4 times that many and the number is growing every year.

Believe it or not, most artists that make a record have no idea what to do with it, which is a shame considering the amount of time, effort and money involved. Even if the record is great, unless you have a plan, chances are that you, your friends and family will be the only ones to enjoy it.

Even worse, many artists still have their mind set on the elusive record deal, even though it's obvious to most that this is no longer the path to success that it once was. Even more baffling is the fact that many artists still refuse to learn more about how to use the many possibilities that the Internet now holds for building any fan base and marketing the thing you care so much about.

The only way that you can compete today is embrace the concepts of Music 3.0. Here are just a few things to think about (sorry if you've read this here before but there are many new readers who've not been exposed to the concepts yet).

1) You've got to reach out and touch your fans - frequently. Build your email list, keep in touch via social media, talk to your fans and especially, let them talk to you. Read the archives of this blog for a lot more info on how to do all of this, especially this post about how to reach your online audience.

2) You've got to target your audience and not waste time on trying to market to what you think is your audience. Just because you can reach a great deal of the world doesn't mean that it's cost or time efficient to try to do so. The more targeted you can be, the more likely you'll find your true fans (sometimes called "super fans," uber-fans," or "your tribe") and they'll find you.

3) You've got to keep your content fresh. Frequent releases of just one or two songs mean a lot more in keeping your fanbase happy than waiting a year in between each album release. The album is still important, but it's not the center of most fans or listener's music world any more, so keep those songs coming, preferably every six or eight weeks. Release an album when you have enough songs as described in this article about the new release schedule.

4) You've got to think outside the box. Trying something different like making a vinyl record doesn't mean that you'll automatically have an audience, but it does give you a better chance of being heard or at least have a story. Some artists have even released cassettes and 8 track tapes (although no one can probably play them). It's the story and the experience that you're selling, as well as the music. Which brings us to.....

5) You have to have a story. As Tom Silverman of Tommy Boy Records and the New Music Seminar said at the recent NARM, "The most important thing you can do (above music even) is create a great story; story sells, create context." The story allows you to raise up above the pack. It allows you to glow while your competition fades. It was always important, but now it's more important than ever.

Those 5 points are just an overview. There's a lot of detail to each, plus there's plenty more that you can do to take advantage of Music 3.0. Watch this blog for more tips, read my Music 3.0 Internet Music Guidebook and other great books like Ariel Hyatt's "Music Success In 9 Weeks"to get started.

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Follow me on Twitter for daily news and updates on production and the music business.

Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.

The Giant List Of Keyword Tools - Part 1

Keywords are incredibly important. It's one of the major ways that people other than your fans find you. How do we determine which are the keywords to use? By using Keyword Search Tools.

Here's part 1 of a great list of keyword search tools that I came across on the Search Engine Land site.

Keyword suggestion tools

• Google External Keyword Tool – The “big daddy” of keyword tools straight from the belly of the beast. Check out the beta link to the advanced version.
• Free Keyword Tool by WordStream – Really great aggregator of other suggest tools
• Microsoft AdCenter Labs – Keyword suggest tool along with a multitude of “experimental tools” like the search funnels, keyword research, keyword mutation tool, etc.
• Google’s Search-based Keyword Tool provides keyword ideas based on actual Google search queries and matched to specific pages of your website with your ad and search share.
• WordTracker’s Keyword Suggestion Tool

Engine suggestions

Suggestions in the drop-down menus that appear when you start typing in a search box:

• Google Suggest Keyword Suggestion Scraper Tool – This tool grabs the top queries fromGoogle Suggest which normally appears in a drop down menu under the Google search bar as you type a query.
• Soovle is a free tool that provides the search suggestions from various engines around the net including Google, Yahoo, Bing, Wikipedia, Amazon, etc.

Visualization tools & word clouds

• Quintara Word Cloud
• Google Wonder Wheel.
• Visual Thesaurus
• Clusty – A search engine that provides results parsed into categories.
• Wordle – Creates a visual keyword cloud based on the terms you enter.

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Check out my Big Picture blog for discussion on common music, engineering and production tips and tricks.

The Best Day Of The Week For Email Marketing?

What's the best day of the week to send your email newsletter? This is a critical decision because if you send it on the wrong day, you'll have fewer of your fans open it. Why? Usually because the timing is bad and their attention is on something else. That's why you want to be sure to pick the right day.

Like record releases, I've always felt that Tuesday was the best day to release or send anything. It's usually a slow news day, everyone is over the rush and pent up obligations that Monday brings, and you're not caught up in the business craziness that grows ever crazier as the week progresses.

That being said, I recently found an article on a site called gather.com that analyzes every day of the week as a potential email day. The article drew no conclusions but did give a compelling argument for almost every day except the weekend. Here's an excerpt (by the way, I'll still stick with Tuesday).

MONDAY

Pros: After a long weekend, many email users make it a priority to organize their inboxes. This means there is a good chance that they will run across your message and open it.

Cons: Some consumers in the workforce don’t have the time or access to email during the day.

Recommended Approach: Send email late in the morning, preferably just before lunch, as this is when they are more likely to have the time to check their inbox.

TUESDAY

Pros: By now, many consumers have organized their work week and have a little extra time to devote to checking their inbox.

Cons: Campaigns aiming for recipients to take action over the weekend may trigger responses too early.

Recommended Approach: Make sure all the messages you send on Tuesday are designed to convince the recipient to react during the week.

WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY

Pros: People are preparing for the weekend and how they will spend their personal time.  On these two days, they often have a little extra time to spend in their inbox.

Cons: There is still business that needs to be handled and only two days left to get it done. Depending on the recipient, they may hold your message off until next week, or forget about it altogether.

Recommended Approach: Keep your marketing message friendlier and less aggressive as subscribers plan their time off.

FRIDAY

Pros: People tend to receive less email on Friday, which in turn, increases the visibility of your message.

Cons: By the time Friday rolls around, some consumers are in such a rush, they may automatically ignore any email that doesn’t pertain to the job.

Recommended Approach: Send your message early in the day so the recipient has more time to read it and take action.

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY

Pros: Believe it or not, people do check their inboxes on the weekend.  This factor gives your marketing message unlimited potential.

Cons: By sending business emails on Saturday or Sunday, you run the risk of coming off as too intrusive and annoy your subscribers.

Recommended Resolution: Try to avoid sending email on Saturday and Sunday.  If you must, limit your mailings to subscribers who are the most responsive on these particular days.

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Booking Gigs With Live Music Machine

Artists can do so much online these days. Thanks to the Music 3.0 world we live in, artists and bands can directly communicate, market, and sell directly to their fans, which is the definition of Music 3.0 itself.

The only thing missing in the whole scenario was being able to book gigs, which is maybe the most critical aspect of any band's survival. If you're not playing in front of fans, you can't easily expand your audience, you can't make much money, and you can't feel good about yourself as a musician.

Now comes a way for bands to get gigs online with a services called Live Music Machine. I can't vouch for how effective it is, but I do know that something like this is much needed and important.

I was turned onto Live Music Machine in an interesting post on the Musicians Wages blog. Here's the excerpt from that post regarding the service.

Live Music Machine is an online booking tool that enables anyone to book a band anywhere. The band puts the Live Music Machine widget on their website and social networking sites, and talent buyers or even fans can easily see the bands availability and booking requirements before making a booking request. Once a gig is booked, both parties are charged a $10 fee for using the service.

This service brilliantly streamlines the booking process. The most difficult issue of booking shows is simply communication. Live Music Machine presents talent buyers, bookers, and fans with all the information they need to know before they even contact the band. Once a request is made, the band simply reviews, accepts, or rejects the offer. No miscommunications, no unanswered questions.

Live Music Machine Highlights:

1. The widget is a complete calendar system, making it easy to post your shows wherever you put the widget.
2. Bands can post their requirements up front, so potential bookers know exactly what the band costs for a show, how far they will travel, backline requirements, and even their rider.
3. Fan generated bookings. Fans can make offers to book your band directly, or Live Music Machine can connect them with other fans and venues in their area that are also interested in booking you.
4. Other LMM features will help you sell tickets and promote the show.
5. Get paid securely with GigPay.

Learn more at the Live Music Machine FAQ.

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Why Traditional Radio Is No Longer A Factor

Here's another excerpt from chapter 2 of my the Music 3.0 Internet Music Guidebook, entitled "The New Music Business." It's about the current state of broadcast radio and how it got that way.

Direct To Fan Platform Overview

Oniracom (who's vice-president and creative lead Jacob Tell was recently featured in my Music 3.0 Internet Music Guidebook) recently posted a great overview of three of the most high profile direct-to-fan platforms (D2F for short).

D2F marketing is what every artist and band should be doing, but it takes a lot of time and a good bit of expertise. As a result, a number of companies have developed services that enable you to do D2F quicker and easier than you could do yourself. Let's take a look at an excerpt from their post. You can go directly to Oniracom's site for the full overview and their conclusion of who does the best job.


BANDBOX
Bandbox is a widget that you embed on your blog, website, and/or social profile that enables fans to directly purchase digital downloads, order full CD’s, and other merch bundles without having to navigate them away from your website or social profile.

Why it’s cool
It’s free and it’s right there! The fan doesn’t have to go looking for your songs on an online store or separate download application. Which is why Bandbox is great for independent and up-and-coming artists. This platform also enables you to set your own price for songs and physical products, which means each artist controls their own store.

In addition, Bandbox also gives you access to consumer data (e-mail and shipping address) to see who is buying your songs. This information is great for geo-targeting fans later on down the line.

TOPSPIN
The Topspin D2F platform consists of three components; a retail channel on social sites, blogs and websites, promotional widgets that drive and track traffic, and campaign management through integrated Google Analytics E-commerce reporting.

The embedded shopping cart enables you to sell customized merchandise and product bundles, where you are able to set your own prices and promotional agendas. Topspin is one of the few platforms that advocates a fan/customer support system.

Why it’s cool
Topspin is the only site that accepts international currencies and allows you to fulfill physical product shipments from any warehouse in the world. Topspin provides detailed information about each fan, which allows you to track specific fan behavior profiles.

The Topspin Knowledgebase is a great way to learn the basics of direct-to-fan marketing and how using their product can benefit both you and your audience. They did an excellent job at providing a user-friendly resource to go to with any questions or concerns, check it out here.

NIMBIT
The Nimbit D2F platform is comprised of three parts, Marketing, Direct Sales, and Business Management. Managed all from one Nimbit dashboard. Nimbit does not choose to utilize a marketing widget like the other two platforms, instead they capture fans through e-mail lists and sign-ups, in a customized store front that matches the skinning on your site or social profile.

Every time someone downloads a free track or purchases anything from your site, they automatically get added to your e-mail list. Which allows the artist to see what each fan is purchasing, where they are purchasing from and gives you a means to contact them, in order to sustain that reciprocal relationship between artist and fan.

Nimbit also utilizes very detailed analytics, click thoughts and geo-targeting features, that enable you to easily segment and customize your marketing campaign. Features include a fan list manager, content manager, campaign manager, message editor and custom search windows.

On the storefront, every Nimbit account includes digital and physical fulfillment, which means you don’t have to worry about shipping anything out to anyone, anywhere. Other features include nimbitskin, (allows for the customization of the retail store), Mystore and nimbitOMT (a channel to embed across your social profits).

Why it’s cool
It’s totally easy and user-friendly. Catalog and content management allows you to submit content once into the Nimbit dashboard and you can instantly add it across all of your social networks, blog, calendar and website, (I’m still uncertain about how this works for tour dates). But, it does provide the fans the opportunity to instantly buy tickets from you website or social profile.

People who don’t know how to write professional messages to send out in an e-blast can choose from a template and fill in the blank with a promo code to get free tracks. It tracks each fan’s activity for you, which allows you to foster a better relationship with the “super fans.”

Nimbit provides a means to capture fans as soon as they purchase a digital download or any other product from your customized storefront. This site also integrates text messaging into their marketing campaigns more so then any other site, which is definitely the next step in social media.

For the complete article and their opinion of who does the best job, go this page on the Oniracom's site.

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Top 10 Reasons Your Merch Doesn't Sell

Here's an excerpt of the  most salient points from an excellent post by Bruce Warilla from the music blog Music Think Tank. It's regarding selling your merchandise (actually not selling your merchandise), a subject that every musician with swag to sell is concerned with. It was actually supposed to be the top 10 reasons, but for some reason he left out number 8, so that's one and the bonus tip are from me.

10) You never create anything different. It’s the same merch you were pushing two years ago, but you tried to change 2008 to 2010 with a Sharpie.

9) Your merch looks like your little sister drew it…using crayons.

8) There's nothing different between your merch and what other bands sell. Try another kind of product, get a better design, or try a different color. Do some market research before you spend money on inventory.

7) There’s not enough lighting on the merch table; everything looks monochrome.

6) The merch table is next to the dance floor / mosh pit.

5) Your manager (smaller acts) has too much pride to be hawking merchandise, but he or she should be…

4) You can’t process debit cards. Get a wireless solution.

3) You underestimate the importance (to the band) of grabbing that extra $100 to $200 per show, so you don’t bother making the effort.

2) The lead singer refuses to promote merch. Solution: give him or her a pitch speech that doesn’t sound desperate or cheesy. Wrtie and then sing your signature “buy my stuff song…” three times a night.

1) You don’t connect with your audience; you don’t make eye contact; you don’t know the name of the bar you are performing in; or you forget that you were in Portland last week (Seattle this week).

Bonus tip: Announce from the stage that the band will be at the merch table to talk to the audience directly after the show. It's amazing how much you'll sell just by your presence.

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