Help me get my music out there!
July 23, 2008 4:33 PM Subscribe
How would you go about getting your music heard and known on the internet?
I've always wanted to release an album of sorts but have always been afraid to. Afraid of people stealing my stuff or just not getting credit. But I'm finally over that and I plan on completing an album of about 10 tracks to give to my friends and release online. Very possibly give it away as a torrent.
I'm not trying to make a living off of this but it would be interesting to see if I can get some fans going and develop a fanbase that likes my stuff.
How would YOU go about this?
I'm thinking of having a website, getting a myspace, facebook, putting my music somewhere that's RSS friendly. I don't know, I'm just talking out loud. I don't know how to go about it. I need some help here.
Thanks for all the tips.
I've always wanted to release an album of sorts but have always been afraid to. Afraid of people stealing my stuff or just not getting credit. But I'm finally over that and I plan on completing an album of about 10 tracks to give to my friends and release online. Very possibly give it away as a torrent.
I'm not trying to make a living off of this but it would be interesting to see if I can get some fans going and develop a fanbase that likes my stuff.
How would YOU go about this?
I'm thinking of having a website, getting a myspace, facebook, putting my music somewhere that's RSS friendly. I don't know, I'm just talking out loud. I don't know how to go about it. I need some help here.
Thanks for all the tips.
Here's Jonathan Coulton's detailed account of how he did it.
posted by self at 4:59 PM on July 23, 2008
posted by self at 4:59 PM on July 23, 2008
For something out in left field I would try doing something creative with Songfight.
posted by tinkertown at 5:13 PM on July 23, 2008
posted by tinkertown at 5:13 PM on July 23, 2008
I would try getting on to Last.fm
I have a song I did here and I am showing it to you so you can see how robust it is....I love it...its a good way to get your feet wet...for free
Best of luck...
posted by TeachTheDead at 5:15 PM on July 23, 2008
I have a song I did here and I am showing it to you so you can see how robust it is....I love it...its a good way to get your feet wet...for free
Best of luck...
posted by TeachTheDead at 5:15 PM on July 23, 2008
Find the mp3 blogs that cater to your genre and send them your track.
Try to get on some compilation torrents. There is one called "indie rock playlist" that comes out every month that's very widely donated. I don't know who makes it, but you could probably find out...
Myspace is still good. Some people get pantie-bunched about friend requests from bands, but I usually give them a chance. I've found a ton of good stuff that way.
posted by drjimmy11 at 5:32 PM on July 23, 2008
Try to get on some compilation torrents. There is one called "indie rock playlist" that comes out every month that's very widely donated. I don't know who makes it, but you could probably find out...
Myspace is still good. Some people get pantie-bunched about friend requests from bands, but I usually give them a chance. I've found a ton of good stuff that way.
posted by drjimmy11 at 5:32 PM on July 23, 2008
1. Buy a bunch of 128 MB USB flash drives (these are very cheap), put your music on them (along with a simple text or html page about you, the songs/album, etc) and give to interesting people you meet. Make sure that the quality is top notch.
2. Pirate your own music. Create an account at The Pirate Bay - they have an interesting music section - and release your music. Make sure you seed for many days. Pirates like high quality music, so watch those bitrates.
3. Yeah, Last.fm is pretty awesome. Lots of people use it to listen to previews, to check if a certain band exists, etc.
4. YouTube is most definitely interesting, even if you don't have any videos for your music. One easy solution is to create videos that basically show a photo or slideshow of your liking - preferably a photo of you, you producing music, etc - accompanied by your music. Make sure to set up your profile properly and that your uploaded videos have important info: who you are, the name of the song/album, a link to your site/profile, etc.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 5:38 PM on July 23, 2008 [1 favorite]
2. Pirate your own music. Create an account at The Pirate Bay - they have an interesting music section - and release your music. Make sure you seed for many days. Pirates like high quality music, so watch those bitrates.
3. Yeah, Last.fm is pretty awesome. Lots of people use it to listen to previews, to check if a certain band exists, etc.
4. YouTube is most definitely interesting, even if you don't have any videos for your music. One easy solution is to create videos that basically show a photo or slideshow of your liking - preferably a photo of you, you producing music, etc - accompanied by your music. Make sure to set up your profile properly and that your uploaded videos have important info: who you are, the name of the song/album, a link to your site/profile, etc.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 5:38 PM on July 23, 2008 [1 favorite]
I forgot:
0. Beef up your Mefi profile page! :) Imagine how many people could have discovered your music during the past two years if you had a couple of links to various sites that hosted your music.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 5:46 PM on July 23, 2008
0. Beef up your Mefi profile page! :) Imagine how many people could have discovered your music during the past two years if you had a couple of links to various sites that hosted your music.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 5:46 PM on July 23, 2008
If you can afford it, send CDs to local music playing radio stations.
posted by acro at 8:46 PM on July 23, 2008
posted by acro at 8:46 PM on July 23, 2008
Add your music to the podsafe music network so podcasters can play you on their shows.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 9:02 PM on July 23, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 9:02 PM on July 23, 2008 [1 favorite]
Check out the MiniNova BitTorrent Content Distribution network. If you're going to upload your album, upload it to there. It'll be carried on many bittorrent websites and will always be seeded.
posted by lockle at 8:27 AM on July 24, 2008
posted by lockle at 8:27 AM on July 24, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by rhapsodie at 4:37 PM on July 23, 2008 [1 favorite]