I have a book you can borrow about Music PR. It's a bit outdated (came out in the mid 90s), but it's a good building block. On top of that, I use to work for a music PR company so I can give you some tips.
Cool, I would definitely like to get your thoughts. I'm awfully new to the whole self-promotion thing - I still have to fight the old reflexive worry that I'm bothering people...
My friend who owns the Galaxy Hut is constantly being approached by musicians and bands trying to give him stuff, and he tells them it is much easier to email him. That way you don't have to stow the stuff when it is given to you, you don't have to remember to listen to it later, etc.
Myspace is being used more and more each day by musicians to make connections, showcase their music, and inform their fanbase of upcoming shows.
Venues are also looking for you to show them somehow that you self-promote, and draw in some of your own crowd for the show.
That's a very good suggestion, thanks! It hadn't occurred to me to email stuff directly - I still hold a very pre-broadband mindset when it comes to sending big files to people...
...and you should keep that mentality, in a way. better to email someone a link to a song that they can choose to download, rather than emailing them the song.
choking someone's inbox with large files, unless they request them, is a no-no.
Having a music myspace page is essential. Beyond that, you need a solid 1 sheet with who you are and what you do. If you dont have anything major from a feather in your cap sort of thing, (Like big reviews or shows) highlight the strengths of the music itself.
Use soundbite type words, "Deep and emotional" "Dark yet hopeful" whatever. The idea is to create the minimum amount of work for a reviewer. I cant tell you the number of times a review has more or less cut and pasted the contents of our 1 sheet into their review.
Just from a simple pedegree point of view our wikipedia entry is a good example of simple and to the point http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ego_Likeness look at the one for the Cruxshadows and combichrist as well.
It would also probably be a good idea to find people in a similer genere and see what they have done. Once again myspace is really good for finding references for that sort of thing.
I do actually have a myspace page, but learning to make the most of it has been difficult due to network filtering here at the office. And of course I've got the regular earowe.com site, which I should probably spiffy up a bit. Right now it's easy to navigate, but the content is a little bit limited.
A one-sheet is definitely sounding like the next important thing I need to work on... I don't think I'll be ready for my own wiki for a little while yet... ;)
The big trick with myspace is to think like a teenager. Go and join anyone whos music fits anything your fans might like. When they approve you, thank them in their comments. All this stuff is kinda stupid and blatant networking, but thats part of the gig.
I did some tweaking to my profile last night, hopefully there's a little more useful info now. It's frustrating though, because MS is blocked by my company's firewall. I can't log in or even view stuff during the day, I have to wait until I'm home in the evening...
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When do you guys tend to be home?
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My friend who owns the Galaxy Hut is constantly being approached by musicians and bands trying to give him stuff, and he tells them it is much easier to email him. That way you don't have to stow the stuff when it is given to you, you don't have to remember to listen to it later, etc.
Myspace is being used more and more each day by musicians to make connections, showcase their music, and inform their fanbase of upcoming shows.
Venues are also looking for you to show them somehow that you self-promote, and draw in some of your own crowd for the show.
Reply
Reply
choking someone's inbox with large files, unless they request them, is a no-no.
Reply
Beyond that, you need a solid 1 sheet with who you are and what you do.
If you dont have anything major from a feather in your cap sort of thing, (Like big reviews or shows) highlight the strengths of the music itself.
Use soundbite type words, "Deep and emotional" "Dark yet hopeful" whatever. The idea is to create the minimum amount of work for a reviewer. I cant tell you the number of times a review has more or less cut and pasted the contents of our 1 sheet into their review.
Just from a simple pedegree point of view our wikipedia entry is a good example of simple and to the point http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ego_Likeness look at the one for the Cruxshadows and combichrist as well.
It would also probably be a good idea to find people in a similer genere and see what they have done. Once again myspace is really good for finding references for that sort of thing.
Reply
I do actually have a myspace page, but learning to make the most of it has been difficult due to network filtering here at the office. And of course I've got the regular earowe.com site, which I should probably spiffy up a bit. Right now it's easy to navigate, but the content is a little bit limited.
A one-sheet is definitely sounding like the next important thing I need to work on... I don't think I'll be ready for my own wiki for a little while yet... ;)
Reply
Go and join anyone whos music fits anything your fans might like.
When they approve you, thank them in their comments.
All this stuff is kinda stupid and blatant networking, but thats part of the gig.
Reply
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