How in God's Name do you Market Yourself?
 

So, this is the story. I'm in a synth-disco-pop-trash band. We have been together for two years (just the two of us. we're a duo). We have had all sorts of little successes, many many shows, toured europe twice, a bit of attention here and there. We don't have a label or anything. We are pretty DIY... but it's good. We live off our music and it's nice. I'm happy and pretty productive.

We have been using all sorts of online vehicles to market: Youtube, Facebook, Myspace etc etc etc... and of course, our own site. It's been really great and I feel like we've done well... but still... how in Gosh's name do you market yourself? Is it just being consistent? Putting consistently good stuff online? Blogging a lot?

Online marketing fascinates me but I also don't want to spend every waking moment online. Sometimes I want to go outside and walk around ... y'know? Fresh air... real, live people...

Because for certain things: like Youtube... I see some people who have massive amounts of hits, and I'm just like "how?" "what?" ... I mean... some real crap gets many many hits, and it leaves me astounded. Like (I know it's not music-related) "Charlie Bit My Finger"... how does that happen? Some mother films her kids being silly, sticks it online and all of a sudden thousands of people are watching it? It astounds me. Maybe it's all luck. I mean, Charlie made me laugh... but... millions of hits? What the...?

At the same time, it makes me happy when people I don't know post nice things on my videos... it actually makes me blush slightly.

Anyway, besides all that, I'm happy I found this forum. People see really cool and I'm excited to join a fresh, new music community.

I would love to hear any success stories you've had with online marketing OR/AND any tips on how to get people to pay attention...

Love
Stephen




ON A SIDE NOTE:
My fave bands: Neil Young, Stereolab, The Beatles, the Cars, Gary Numan, Beethoven, Nick Drake, Elliot Smith, Patti Smith, Doe Maar, XTC, Supertramp, Fleetwood Mac, Peaches, Ladytron, the Knife, Hidden Cameras, Final Fantasy, Depeche Mode, the Cure, Lush, the Smiths, Morissey, the Bangles, Pointer Sisters, Scissor Sisters, Twisted Sister, Spleen United, Kings of Convenience, Public Enemy, NWA, Run DMC, Beastie Boys, Beck, Ween, They Might Be Giants, Hole, Nirvana, Aphex Twin, Pet Shop Boys, Pink Floyd, pixies, MC Solaar, Prince, Ron Sexsmith, Sigur Ros, the Strokes, Talking Heads, Siouxi Sioux and the Banshees, Blur, the Guerillas, Frank Zappa, Chuck Berry, Rolling Stones, the Who, Led Zeppelin, the Kinks, Super Girls and Romantic Boys, Chopin, Michael Jackson, the Communards, Bronski Beat, MiA, Wax Mannequin, Pink Floyd, Roger Hodgson, New Order, Joy Division, the Buzz****s, David Byrne, MGMT, Mogwai, Mercury Rev, Clancy Brothers, The Latah Movement, Hank and Lily, Kevin Burke, Manu Chao, Tupac, Rage Against the Machine, Outkast, Bonobo, Kid Koala, Sergento Garcia, Buddy Holly, The Sugarcubes, Jean Duval, La Bottine Souriante, Mugar, Cyndi Lauper, Speak the Hungarian Rapper, Alexander Marcus, Pooprider, Jarvis ****er, Pulp, Suede, Human League, Flaming Lips, Electrolane, Devo, Dead Kennedys, Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah, Organ, New Pornographers, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Idol, Animal Collective, Arcade Fire, Milli Vanilli, Technotronic, Brian Eno, OMD, Tears for Fears, REM, B52s, Phil Collins, Genesis, Early Elton John, Elvis Costello, Elvis Presley, the Doors, Magnetic Fields, Kraftwerk, the Zombies, Low, the Danielson Family, Pinback, Galaxy 500, Simon and Garfunkel, Velvet Underground, King Missile, the Police, Sting, Lenny Kravitz, ELO, Tom Petty, Tracy Chapman, Slim Whitman, Johnny Cash, Aqua, Sisters of Mercy, Jesus and Mary Chain, Swervedriver, spinvis, MC 900 ft. Jesus and DJ Zero, Tricky, Enya, Kate Bush, Tori Amos, Enya, Eminem, CCR, Chemical Brothers, Moby, David Bowie, Michael Nyman, Midnight Oil, Crowded House, Leonard Cohen, Philip Glass, Rik Ocasek, George Brassens, Disposable Heroes of Hypocrisy, Moxy Fruvous, Spandau Ballet, Blondie, Harmonium, Public Image Limited, Sex Pistols, Peter Gabriel, Belinda Carlisle, Eurythmics, Violent Femmes, Soft Cell, Air, Men Without Hats, Cyndi Lauper, The The, Orbital, a Flock of Seagulls, Joe Jackson, INXS, Lou Reed, Ned Rifle, Polyphonic Spree, Adult, Laurie Anderson, Beach Boys, Ride, Stone Roses, AC/DC, Tina Turner, Coil, Front 242, Postal Service and Erasure

Wow! Thats quite a list of fave bands! Quite alot of really good stuff in there too...

If you ever hear of a case of an artist being 'successful on the internet' it's usually because they already have the funds & backing of a major record label behind them.

You'll just have to join the millions of other wannabe bands all vying for our attention.

I had a feeling that was all a bit of a sham... the internet gets information out there quickly I guess, but it has become a somewhat crowded space vying for the attentions of the casual surfer... and what better way to set yourself apart than to have a glossy pop up or banner from a friendly mega label coroporate sponsor...

:bowdown:

Go amaze people with live shows and kick ass. Horrid advice but meh thats my two cents.

You listen to amazing music btw.

I think you need something that sets you apart. There are so many bands out there that sound pretty much the same, mimicking something that's been done before them. Find your own niche, it doesn't have to be completely different but there should at least be some kind of distinct signature to your music.

That and of course it has to be good.

the internet is like a big popularity contest ... it's never about the talent.

Well, doing something with your talent is also a talent. I mean there are thousands of people out there who are incredibly good at playing guitar, likely as good as the many famous virtuosos, but a lot of them never do anything interesting with that skill. If you have no interest in the wankery itself, why then listen to them?

You have to create something that people like and preferably something that makes you stand out from the crowd.

Wow quite the nice diverse music taste. Those are some of my favorites from your list. You're really going to like it here if you stick around.

As far as marketing yourself, a lot of it comes from getting hyped... major labels help those bands a lot. Especially from your description other artists in your genre, who probably claim to be indie bands and have an "independent" label that is actually just an extension of a major label. If you could get in Pitchfork or some big music magazine somehow you'd probably get a lot of listeners... lots of people like to be told what to listen to. Not saying I think this is what you should do, but if you're looking to get popular that's gonna help a lot. Don't know how you would go around accomplishing that though... Other than that, just be really amazing and set yourself apart from other bands by developing a unique sound. Good luck!

Thanks man! I appreciate how everyone said nice things about my musical tastes. I like a lot of different stuff... and a LOT of eighties music.
Could be true. You hear about artists "breaking it" on youtube... and I've seen vloggers/ musicians/ comedians get a pretty decent fan base on youtube, to the extent that they can easily get 100,000 hits on each video. Young guys too. I don't really know the secret. Whatevs.

As for us, we post things about two or three times a week; sometimes a funny video, a song, a vlog... whatever. I like the internet and this day and age, and how people can market themselves... it's pretty great. But to make the BIG STEP... yeah, who knows? Major labels, sure... but that's a long shot to get onto one of those. There's something nice about DIY, though, I must say. To feel independant, at least for awhile... drumming up interest in yourself by perservering and being faithful w/ vlogs, blogs etc etc... and playing live, of course. That has been the NUMBER ONE best thing for us and getting fans/ generating interest...

that's VERY true... talent gets shoved by the wayside, sometimes.

People like being hit over the head with something that is funny and kinda dumb. They love that ****.

thanks scottsy!

I agree. It has to be unique and catch somebody's attention. Like that GO TEAM or whatever... they guys who did the video where they're on the treadmills, yknow? but who knows? maybe they were already on a small label, and that vid just catapulted them (and they might have had people paid to promote the crap out of them on youtube...)

If you find out what works, let me know.

These are things that worked for me

-write songs for local dj's and television personalities and journalists
-change your clothes a hundred times onstage
-ditch your guitar for a retro casio keyboard
-create your own dance
-spam your friends and neighbors constantly with unfinished songs
-marry someone famous like courtenay love did,
-make everyone feel special
-contract AIDS and die...

Is Pooprider really one of your favorite bands?

lose the cowboy hat in favour of a plaid beret...with a pompom.

Chicks dig it.

play a ****load of live shows, make sure you have cd's for sale so people have something tangible that they can let their friends listen to. your best friends are your fans and you should treat them that way... i don't mean write music to cater for them. hire/find someone who is a whiz at internet blogging and marketing. get a good manager that can get you gigs so you can focus on making good music while they take care of all the business stuff. know all the laws about distributing and licensing, maybe try getting your music in an indie movie. spread your music far and wide. if it's good it's bound to be picked up.

I'm currently promoting a site called AMA Hits. The aim is to help artists who are unsigned sell their music. It's 100% free for the artist to sign up and upload music. You make money when people download your music. So, when you do shows you can mention that they can get your music there. So, sign up if you're interested. :)

(The website's on my profile page. I don't want to break any rules by posting the link here.)

Keep working hard mate...thats the best advice I can give...dont stop working hard..ever!

Whats your myspace anyway so I can check you out?? :)

I'd like to hear you guys too.

You're in kind of a niche genre so it's going to be hard to break. You really need a live show that blows everyone else away. You need a professional, unique approach to live performing. A stage show with costume changes and changing backgrounds would be cool.

Another thing is that people like themes. If you have an identifiable theme throughout your music, your shows, your imagery, people really really respond well.

Best of luck to you. We live in an age where technology - for the most part, the internet - is an integral part for any creative work (music, writing, film, etc) to gain success. You said you have a youtube page, but my best advice is to take it further than that. Make a Facebook page, use twitter, sound cloud, anything & spread your songs to as many people as possible. Like everyone else has said, make it unique and something that people will remember. Based on the bands you like, you have an awesome taste in music and some amazing influences. You should post a link to some of your songs on here for us! ^_^

I saw an interesting tactic earlier today. A band bought ad time on Youtube and just played their video, people can skip over it after 5-15 seconds but I personally listened to the whole thing so i would imagine a fair amount of people would at least give it a chance. I have no idea what an ad costs to on Youtube but I imagine not much per view since theoretically only one person would see it each play.

buy a school bus. turn one side of it into a giant door that opens up into a stage with a giant banner of your band's name. a simple, distinguishable logo helps. drive to crowds at sporting events, rallies, pre-concert line-ups, festivals, etc. get arrested for disturbing the peace after putting on an amazing 15 minute show. videotape the whole thing. post to youtube and blogs. repeat.

if that doesn't work, drive the bus into the lobby of a major record label's head office, and have 10 people rifling piles of your cds onto the floor and desks and chairs and into the elevators.

people love crazy.

You can go to www.hypebot.com and they have articles every day posted on how to market your band.

It was a video that captured people's imagination. It's easy to connect with people when you post videos of babies doing stupid things. Charlie Bit My Finger is iconic in that regard.