Online Marketing for an Indie Band?

nometa asks: "I'm working with an indie band, and despite excellent reviews, a great album (produced by Sylvia Massey of Tool fame), and excited responses by crowds whenever we play, it seems near-impossible to get past the 'gate-keepers' of the music industry. Majors (and several indies, sadly) don't see a pretty boy band, push for fluffy singles over good songs, and generally act like they still have clue about what people want. We've had great success, however, on our websites selling CDs and pulling in new fans, and would like to push online music marketing further. Do any Slashdot readers have suggestions for pushing our music out further online?" We all know the problem with today's music industry, this is not the place for that horse-pill. Instead let's focus on how an independent music group can go out there and make it on their own, and do so using existing technology (including the Internet), to its best potential. So what suggestions do you have for young, aspiring bands who want to make their music, and not sell their soul in the process?

Comments

Campus Net-Radio

[overshoot]

Give samples and distribution rights to University LAN stations. A lot of University campuses have their own inside-the-firewall Net radio and are starved for material.

Re:Campus Net-Radio

[Hooya]

'Campus Net-Radio' is an awesome suggestion. On the other side of things, what is it that you're really looking for? if nationwide frenzy over your band is it then, my friend, you'll need to sell out. indie style is not for you. the only reason n-sync and the likes are nationwide is because the bigwigs are forcing air-play, arranging concerts, pushing them infront of every media thereby creating the mentality of 'they must be really popular with everybody else since they seem to be in such demand in every media. i must therefore like them too.'

sorry to say but without such backing and creating a limited choice for consumers by the big medias, people would choose diverse artists/bands thereby not creating one or a few bands that are 'it' -- that *everyone* listens to. that is the sole premise of the business model of the entertainment industry. few bands 'make it big' (in reality they are 'made big'.) so there is some sense of consolidation for the big media. same as x number of models in a product line etc.. ("pick any color you want as long as it's black." -- Ford). all kinds of combinations and variations that people actually want are really hard to manage. it's also really costly. instead, just put out a certain models, concentrate your finances and efforts there and market them like crazy. So unless you sell out of your indie roots, you're SOL.

But there is hope. it's a well known fact that the bigwigs take most of the cut. i don't know enough about the 'indie process' but i'm sure you get better returns in terms of percentage. so in reality, you have a chance of making decent living even if you reach fewer people. concentrate on that. if you just make it in your hometown, independently, i'm thinking you should be making quite a good living.

if it's rock star status you're thinking about, well, you weren't indie to begin with and you shouldn't be talking to us -- well me anyways. talk to the guy in the grey suit.

but like the above poster (overshoot) said, give away your songs to the campuses running their own radios. then go do shows in the local bars there. when i was going to college, we heard bands on the campus radio and were there to see their show in our favorite local bar whenever they came by.

The Majors are probably right

[ryanvm]

The Majors generally act like they still have clue about what people want.

I know everybody here likes to bitch and moan about popular music, but the fact is that the recording industry at large probably does have a pretty good handle on what "most people" want.

These guys sink millions upon millions of dollars into focus groups and various other forms of research to determine what music is going to be the most popular. Obviously you're going to have bands (e.g. Barenaked Ladies) that blindside these studies and turn into mega superstars. But for better or worse, the major labels have gotten pretty good at spoon-feeding the public just exactly what they want. It may be insipid, it may be uninspired, but chances are it's what most people want to hear.

Look at it this way - you and I may not be buying Britney Spears albums, but there's a hell of a lot of somebody out there paying for them.

Allow taping

[jcoleman]

Allow your audience to tape and trade your concerts freely.

The Grateful Dead did it. Phish does it. Dave Matthews Band does it. U2 does it. Radiohead does it. Metallica did it. Note that I just named six of the top grossing concert acts ever. Combine that with a heavy touring schedule, and assuming your band is decent enough to draw an audience, they will rake in the dough.

However, if your band expects to make their primary income from record sales, you're gonna have to bend to the will of the record companies. Fact of the business.

Re:Skip Intro

[schon]

Suggestion #1: Don't make people click through layers to get what they want

Make that #2.

Suggestion #1 should be: DON'T BE A 'TARD AND REDIRECT SOMEONE TO WWW.MACROMEDIA.COM IF YOUR BRAIN-DEAD JAVASCRIPT DOESN'T DETECT A FLASH PLUG-IN - ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY ALREADY HAVE THE PLUGIN INSTALLED

To the Band:
I'm always looking for new music, especially independant bands (that's where most of the 'innovation' in music comes from today), and I buy direct from indie band's websites frequently.

I tried going to your website, expecting to see what you're all about, and maybe being able to sample some of your music - if it was good I'd have no problem buying some CD's, and if very good, some other merchandise.

Instead, your web site tells me that you don't want me as a customer, because you sent me to another site, which has NOTHING to do with you

If you're looking to become more popular, don't send people away from your website.

OR, just buy your market share

[mckwant]

These guys sink millions upon millions of dollars into focus groups and various other forms of research to determine what music is going to be the most popular.

I thought about this a bit, and they don't really have to. Follow me down this road...

• ClearChannel has a playlist of exactly X songs on their "pop" stations.
• Because they can own (virtually) all the radio stations in a given market, they can break them out as they see, assigning one to pop, one to classic rock, one to hard rock, etc., etc..
• Given that, there's no competition for "pop" music.
• Given THAT, those X songs in the playlist ARE the top X songs in the pop demographic, practically by definition.

No market research, just raw ownership of the airwaves and, by extension, the markets.

R.I.P. Rev 105 in Mpls. We knew not what we had.