In case you haven’t already caught on, YouTube launched their Insight service on Wednesday and it has some rich potential for you if you do any viral or other video promotion of your music.

This post on the YouTube blog announcing the Insight release describes the analytics service as “a free tool that enables anyone with a YouTube account to view detailed statistics about the videos that they upload to the site.” Continue Reading

Popularity: 21% [?]

Meet The Darcys. You’ll be glad you did.

These up-and-coming Canadian indie-rockers (#5 on Clash Magazine’s Top 10 New Canadian Acts) are using all the right tools to maximize their presence and build a growing fanbase online.

Here’s their latest YouTube video:

You’ll also want to check out their website at thedarcys.ca.

Notice their use of cdBaby.net for physical and digital distribution, which has the potential to be a powerful and reliable low-maintenance distribution model.

If you’re just starting to build your site, I’d recommend a self-hosted WordPress blog. I use a hosting company like this one that provides a quick and easy Fantastico installation. The WordPress platform is very intuitive and the forums at WordPress.org are usually helpful to answer a wide range of questions while you get used to your new site. If you need some help getting started, feel free to leave a comment below.

And check out TheDarcys.ca! Great music, and you can learn a few things too!

Popularity: 10% [?]

Kevin Kelly has published the most up to date and articulate expression of the economics behind the new music industry I can find anywhere.

In his post titled ‘1000 True Fans’, Kelly puts the power of social networking into dollar terms for your band. Continue Reading

Popularity: 10% [?]

I’ve been meaning to write a post about the essential steps to the bigger ’system’ of the new music industry, not just the online component that we talk about alot on this blog.Turns out Jimmy Shelter has already said it better than I ever could. Continue Reading

Popularity: 10% [?]

I thought I’d take a minute to switch from the regular topic of online music promotion to the tried and true offline epitome of breaking your band at the grassroots – touring.

Take a look at Martin Atkins’ Tour Smart, a must have book of touring secrets every artist should read before heading on tour. I bring this up because a lot of you have been talking to me about ideas for promoting your summer tour on the internet. Continue Reading

Popularity: 5% [?]

If I thought it was possible, I would confess to being madly in love with this plugin designed for any band using the Wordpress platform for their website.

Calling itself ‘tour management for Wordpress’, Gigpress gives you a powerful way to manage your upcoming gig calendar whether you’re playing a few shows a year or doing a worldwide tour. Don’t just take my word for it.Check out the official site for a complete list of features.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Get help writing your band bio

Cullen Hendrix tells you exactly how NOT to write your band’s bio in this post I stumbled across when looking for resources about putting the story of your music online. If you’re not ready to hire a pro to do the work, take a minute to consider your approach. Continue Reading

Popularity: 53% [?]

The Internet has too many social networks already. It is full of blogs, social bookmarking sites, and clever little Web 2.0 outlets that allow you to interact with people all over the world. Basically, if someone thought of something that could be done on the Internet, at least one person has tried to create a social network to make it happen. The result is a massive web of sites that are generally all very similar, but still quite powerful.

That’s why, when you first look at Squidoo, it appears to be much like every other website you have encountered while trying to market your music. It allows you to quickly and freely start your own page – called a lens – and blog about that topic. You can gather friends, comment on other lenses, and vote on how effective they are – but somehow Squidoo is much different and for someone looking to stretch a little and find new fans, different is absolutely necessary.

First, a Squidoo lens is created with the notion that it will make money. People do not create these sites just because they want to share their thoughts on something – they create them because they feel they are an expert in a certain field and can share their expertise for a general profit. This is bolstered by the inclusion of affiliate links to dozens of different services.

Say for example you want to create a lens about Monty Python. After creating that lens, you could include all of the following on the page for potential readers:

• An Amazon Plexo (listing of top products that readers can vote on) with 10-20 products.
• Ticket sales for Broadway shows.
• Google AdSense
• Targeted offers from other lenses
• Paid banner ads from major companies
• Gift ideas and links

And dozens of other possible inclusions, if you have the space for it. That’s not to say that a Squidoo lens is only for money making. It’s a marketer’s dream and the money making opportunities are only small tools to help that goal along.

For the prospective musician, the possibilities can grow even larger. Too many musicians and artists assume that everything they do in their marketing campaign must be focused on making their name bigger and reaching new audiences, but just as much good can be done simply by creating a presence for you as an individual on the Internet.

If your band falls into a specific genre or has a specific sound that you want to relay to your fans, create a lens in Squidoo that allows you to show just how much you know about that sound. Talk about your favorite bands – their histories, their members, and their albums. Talk about shows that are coming up, new bands in the genre, and of course your own band.

By combining the best of what you aspire to be and what you actually are, you can promote yourself through an exploding market. Not only that, but you can add your own show tickets, albums, and merchandise to the lens and sell them, making additional profits and spreading your music at the same time. With a couple of hours invested in writing about something you are already passionate about, you will have created a portal that can bring thousands of new fans to your MySpace profile, your shows, and – if you are lucky – the box office.

Popularity: 7% [?]