It has become increasingly easy for artists to build a fan base through Social Media (i.e. MySpace, Twitter, Facebook).  MidemNet recently held a seminar on Social Media and its affect on the music industry.  The seminar specifically focused on artist-fan relationship and how Social Media has changed it.  Participants in the seminar were asked questions on this topic and given an opportunity to vote.  Read below to see what their opinions were on using social networks to market music or click here to read the full post:

“When did you start using social networks in your marketing strategy?”
-    35% haven’t started, 30% started last year, 35% started two or more years ago

Perhaps unsurprisingly, this is a later-adopting crowd than we have seen in previous, online surveys…

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… so should the late-adopters use social networks more? Yes!:

“Are social networks a cost effective tool for marketing?”
-    83% Yes, 17% No

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“Is there more value for music promotion in choosing a mainstream social network, or a music-focussed community?”
-    We asked this question a couple of times – the first time, results were pretty even: 54% mainstream, 46% music-focussed-community. Second time around, the audience had veered towards the mainstream sites: 69% mainstream, 31% music-focussed-community

Was this a true shift in opinion, or a sign that the audience wasn’t sure? My advice is – don’t put all your eggs in one basket – just as the social network audience typically spend time on multiple networks, so you should work multiple networks into your marketing strategy.

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And how best to do it?:

Which is the most effective strategy for marketing through social networks?
-    43% artist-branded channels or sites
-    34% viral marketing
-    14% direct advertising
-    7% label-branded channels or sites
-    2% direct retail

This fits well with our previous research on social networks, also with the objectives that a music fan has when they visit a social network:

They want to make friends with the artist, so artist-branded channels or sites can work very well (in an ideal world – this needs considerable input and digital marketing-savvy from the artist , but that’s a whole new topic – I vlogged about this on the Midem.com site a couple of days ago.)

They also want to link up and share with their own friends, so viral marketing campaigns, if targetted well, can deliver good results.

… but they don’t really want to make friends with a label, nor do they really want to buy while they are on the network!

===

And finally …

Are you likely to use social networks more or less for marketing in 2009?
-    69% more, 19% less, 11% the same

… you know it’s cost effective,  hard data is coming in on the best tactics to use – and if you give me a shout at StrategyEye, we’re continuously tracking the networks and supporting marketing technologies so can help you to engage!

Category: Music, Technology | No Comments »

Tags: Marketing Music, MidemNet, Social Media, social networks

Los Angeles, CA (January 28, 2009) – As the economy continues to spiral downward, and cost efficiency takes center stage with every industry from finance to fashion, the young entrepreneurs behind Audiolife (www.Audiolife.com) could not have chosen a better climate to launch their groundbreaking technology and web-platform specifically designed to empower artists to make money. Not only does the solution fill a long-standing void in the music industry, but it also provides artists the opportunity to design, promote and sell their music and merchandise online with no up-front costs or physical inventory.

“A lot of companies come through my office trying to sell me on their latest distribution technology and websites,” remarked Kevin Lyman, President of 4Fini Inc. and Founder of the Vans Warped Tour. “But Audiolife clearly offers the best, most comprehensive solution for unsigned artists and bands that need a means to monetize and distribute their music and merchandise.”

The Audiolife platform allows artists to:
• Create their own virtual store with an unlimited number of downloads, ringtones, CDs and merchandise items.
• Sell directly to fans on any website, blog or social network on the web.
• Have one central place to design custom products and manage all e-commerce.
• Easily buy high quality, affordable CDs and merchandise with no minimums for live shows and events.
• Focus on making music while Audiolife handles all on-demand manufacturing, distribution, customer service and accounting.

“Audiolife was built around the specific needs of artists,” remarked Brandon Hance, Founder and CEO of Audiolife. “We have spent over three years identifying the challenges artists have when trying to build their careers, and we have created a solution that integrates all of their needs into a single website that completely eliminates the need for start-up capital. Our goal is to create a middle class in the music industry by empowering artists and record labels with the necessary tools to make money in the new music business.”

After using Audiolife’s platform during private beta, Indie Band The Harm noted: “I don’t know why it took so long for music companies to leverage the internet. Before, it was such a hassle directing my fans to several different companies to purchase all our music and merchandise. Now we only go through Audiolife – and it’s so easy to use and cost-efficient, for both our band and our fans! Glad to see there’s finally a company catching on.”

Category: Business | 1 Comment »

Tags: Audiolife, Beta Launch, Kevin Lyman, New Media, New Music Business, The Harm, The Warped Tour

In our last post we talked about how, despite what people think, CD sales are still higher than digital downloads.  Today we bring you an article that proves indie music still sells and is actually doing better than the industry as a whole.  CD Baby in particular has seen a 2% increase in its CD sales despite a 14% drop in the music industry.  For those who aren’t familiar with CD Baby, it is an online record store that sells albums by independent musicians.  Read below for further details on their 2008 sales figures:

This is a nice positive report compared to the doom and gloom the media keeps telling us about the music industry…..

How’s this for proof that the indie music segment is the most vibrant part of the music industry? Amid all the recent bad news over dropping CD sales (down 14% in 2008), CD Baby’s CD sales volume grew modestly, and digital distribution volume grew strongly.

I know our artist community is a passionate one, and you’re interested in transparency. You asked for it, you got it. Here are some of the key stats from 2008 for CD Baby.

Total albums available for sale as of January 1, 2009: 277,000
Total artists with active albums as of January 1, 2009: 150,000

Total digital tracks available for distribution to our digital partners (iTunes, Amazon MP3, Napster, Rhapsody, eMusic, and dozens of other download sellers): 2,233,891.

Of the 277,000 total albums, 194,000 are opted in for digital distribution. The rest sell just CDs.

1,013,478 CDs sold in 2008, compared to 993,175 discs in 2007, a modest 2% increase (but quite a victory in light of 14% sales declines for the industry at large, IMO).

39,100 new album titles added in 2008, up 7% from the prior year, and proof that CDs continue to be a viable sales driver for independent artists

While CD sales were up modestly, CD Baby artists saw much more significant growth in digital distribution revenues. Total DD revenues for 2008 were $25.4 million, compared to $17.4 million in 2007, a very strong 45% growth rate. That broke down as follows:

iTunes payments:
2008: $20.9 million
2007: $14.9 million

Payments from all other digital partners:
2008: $3.3 million
2007: $2.2 million

Download sales on cdbaby.com (albums only):
2008: $1.3 million
2007: $365,000

Of course, 91% of that money went right back to you, the artists.

Interesting when you consider that the $24.2 million in DD revenue is at wholesale rates, which means that collectively, the CD Baby artists sold (at retail value) over $35 million! Talk about strength in numbers…

One indicator of the health of our community is how much you’re making selling product at live shows. While we don’t know how much you sell in cash, our credit card swiper data is also holding steady with last year: we processed more than 87,000 charges for over $2.4 million. (If you don’t have a swiper yet, and want to double your live gig revenue, sign up at http://cdbaby.net/swiper .

In total, CD Baby paid out over $34 million to artists in 2008 alone, up 28% from the prior year. That averages out to $228 for every artist with an active album for sale. (Yes, I know, not everyone got paid that much, it’s just an average, but you gotta like that number.) Who’s selling volume? Close to 4,000 clients got paid more than $1,000, and approximately 200 artists got paid more than $10,000.

And lifetime total CD Baby artist payments are approximately $97 million!

If this data proves anything it’s this: no other service out there comes close to CD Baby in number of artists, revenues generated, or artist payouts. If you want to sell CDs and downloads, CD Baby is your only viable option.

I want to congratulate every CD Baby artist on being part of this success. We just give you the sales channel, but you’re the ones doing the hard work of selling and promoting your music. Keep it up, and let’s blow the doors off in 2009!

Category: Business, Music | No Comments »

Tags: cd baby, CD sales, Downloads, Indie Music, iTunes, Online Record Store

Some of us just can’t get enough of those jewel cases.We buy them in bulk and excitedly tear off the seals to check the artwork, liner notes and, of course, listen to the high quality CD.But not everyone falls into this category.Not to mention that not everyone actually gets this excited when purchasing a CD. Then there are those who don’t see the point in spending money to purchase a physical CD and opt to download their music instead. However, many of you, musicians in particular, might be happy to know that CD sales are still booming. According to Steve Guttenberg of the CNET Blog Network, 80 percent of music sold in the US was from CD sales. Read the remainder of the article below or click here to see the original source.

The numbers are grim, all right, but the music industry still sells hundreds of millions of CDs each year. That’s a lot of discs, and sales of downloads won’t surpass silver discs for a while.

According to some industry sources, as recently as 2006, CDs represented more than 80 percent of the music sold in the United States. A recent report projects that it won’t be until 2012 that download sales surpass CD sales. So fess up. A lot of you are still buying discs, and I want to know who you are.

I’m doing more than my share, still averaging six or seven CDs a month (vs. less than one DVD/Blu-ray Disc a month). The media sees trends, so even though the trend is down, CDs are not out. Oh, and there’s a lot more profit in selling physical media than downloads, so the record business is in no hurry to quit making discs.

Not that it matters to most people, but CDs sound better than most downloads, including ones free of digital rights management (DRM), or copyright protection software.

Got an iPod? Rip your CDs to Apple Lossless or WAV files, and get way better sound than iTunes downloads. Buy used CDs, and save even more money.

CDs can have gorgeous cover art and liner notes, which aren’t always part of the download deal. Yeah, I’ve heard the news that LP sales doubled in 2008, but their sum still equals the teeniest fraction CD sales.

I’d love to hear from folks who regularly buy CDs.

Category: Business, Music | 3 Comments »

Tags: Audiolife, CD sales, CNET Blog Network, digital downloads, iPod, Music Industry

The micro-blogging social network has quickly become one of the top tools for anyone wanting to promote themselves, their company, their blog—anything! Along with Twitter there are now a plethora of applications and resources users can utilize to better manage their account and marketing tactics through it.

Many musicians, both small and big, are tweeting away as we speak (i.e. ?uestlove of The Roots, Imogen Heap, Sonic Youth, etc.). The following is a list of five Twitter applications for musicians and bands aimed towards building a community around their music. For a link to the original source at IndieMusicTech.com, please click here.

1) twitpic: send photos from your mobile phone which will post links to them on twitter; a quick way to give your fans a visual look at what your band is currently doing (for example: recording, rehearsal, sound check, etc.)

2) twiddeo: similar to twitpic, but for video, allowing you to provide short video clips of your shows, interviews, touring adventures, etc.

3) twtpoll: ask your fans a question and get a response via twitter (e.g. what cities should we play next?)

4) twitzu: create an event (e.g. meet and greet) with description and location info and send it to your twitter followers and receive RSVPs from them

5) tweetchat – create rooms in Twitter to post tweets about a particular topic (e.g. your latest release)

Category: Music, Technology | No Comments »

Tags: Audiolife, indiemusictech, Micro-Blog, Tweetchat, Twiddeo, Twitpic, twitter, Twitzu, Twtpoll

In an age where listening to your fave band or artist is as simple as clicking the “buy now” button on iTunes, it becomes even more imperative that aspiring artists and musicians understand the ins and outs of the digital age—good and bad. Although brick-and-mortar stores that sell cd’s are still the “crème de la crème” in most artists’ eyes, the fact of the matter is that we need to make the psychological shift to embrace the digital age.

Gone are the days when the mark of a musician’s talent was whether or not she was placed on the “top artists” shelf at Tower Records—now it’s all about “digital visibility.” With that, however, come several risks that were not at play before, and several things you can do to make sure that the digital age becomes your best friend, as opposed to your worst enemy.

1. Copyright

Due to the mass exploitation of the Internet, now more than ever it’s important to copyright your songs. People – good and bad – now have access to download your songs, listen to them and share them… or in some cases, distribute them as their own. So it’s incredibly important to make sure you copyright your songs. If there’s one thing you should take away from this article, it is this: copyright your songs. I can’t say that enough!

You can copyright your songs individually for around $35, or as a compilation/album, which is relatively cheaper. Check out this site for exact pricing: http://www.copyright.gov/docs/fees.html.

For more information on copyrights, visit: http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html

2: Distribute, Distribute, Distribute!

Before, it was all about finding a private distributor or a label to back you…now the ball is in your court–which means you have to be pro-active about finding distribution channels whereby potential fans (if you are a relatively new band) or tried-and-true fans can find you.

The fastest and cheapest way to do this: join as many social networks as you can and build your profile on each network. Here’s a good list to get you started:

• MySpace
• Facebook
• Bebo
• Hi5
• Twitter
• ReverbNation
• OurStage
• Friendster
• Buzznet

3. Manage Your Online Reputation

The best way to grow and keep your fan base is by understanding “fan behavior.” The best way to lose any momentum in the marketplace is to pretend you exist in a vacuum, continue making music that fans aren’t responding too, and ignore every request that comes your way.

To see what fans are saying about you, and to “manage your reputation,” sign up for Google or Yahoo Alerts. These are great tools to keep you posted every time a fan writes about you on their blog, or when you’ve been mentioned anywhere in the Internet world.

Another way to build and manage your reputation is by regularly contributing to related message boards. These serve as great opportunities for you to get involved in your community; message boards will help you stay on top of your fan base.

Step 4: Keep It Fresh

Traditionally, top artists are known for long interludes between albums. For Madonna and Britney Spears this works because it allows them to have 5 “comeback” albums before people catch on and a red-flag goes up. But for you, the indie artist, this is not the case (at least not yet).

So…the point is: you must continually keep fans engaged by creating fresh content. Whether it’s a new single piggy-backing on a holiday season or political scandal, a video of you playing at the Roxy, or just comments that you post on your blog, forum, or website…the only way to keep top of mind is to continually inundate fans and the market with fresh content. If it’s good, they’ll keep coming back for more!

5. Learn To Discern

One of the advantages of the digi-age is that there is a tool, software option, and gadget for almost anything and everything. While this can provide the means to be efficient with administrative and certain operational aspects of running your very own “music business,” the relationship with the fan reigns supreme.

In other words, you can automate some things, but relationship building and “fan-service” is only accomplished when the person on the other end is just that—a person. Don’t get too big for your britches: your fans are what got you to where you are….and they will either keep you there or watch you fall from grace.

Learn to discern when it’s ok to automate and when you need to inject your activities with a little TLC. And remember….Audiolife is always here to answer any questions you may have!

Category: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Please see the interview below done by well known blogger and web 2.0 entrepreneur Duncan Freeman. You can learn more about Duncan and his exciting new project Band Metrics here. To see the interview on Duncan’s blog IndieMusicTech, click here.

Are you looking for a single location to create, sell and manage custom swag, physical CDs, digital music, and even ringtones across multiple websites, blogs and social networks? If yes, than Audiolife may be what you need. They’re still in beta, but this music tech startup has potential with a minimalistic, fast and easy-to-use UI.

For additional information about AudioLife, check out their video, or you can read my interview with Co-Founder Brandon Hance below:

Was curious, why did you start Audiolife?

Brandon: We started Audiolife because we wanted to help create a “middle class” in the industry. We wanted to empower musicians to build a sustainable career doing what they love doing most- music. Putting together a comprehensive e-commerce solution takes lots of time, money and expertise- most of which artists have very little of. We wanted to create a solution that was easy, free, and powerful that would let them sell all of their digital and physical products from one central location.

Good stuff, how does AL make money, and what % do do you guys take from DD sales, physical sales, merch, etc.?

Brandon: We like to think of it as having a partnership with artists- we make money when they make money. For each product (downloads, Cds, etc.) there is a minimum price that has our cost included, and we give artists the ability to set their own retail prices on top of it. For example, we’ll manufacture and ship the CD directly to a fan for $5, so if the artists sells a CD for $15, they’d make $10 profit/CD. The beauty here is that artists have no up front costs for the CD’s, no membership costs, and no hassle of making, shipping, etc. They simply upload their designs, set their prices and begin selling immediately. They have the flexibility to change their music, artwork and prices as often as they’d like…for example, artists can have a live CD for every show.

Very cool! One thing I like about AL are the step-by-step wizards you created for an artist to add merch, DD, ringtones, etc. What features do you see adding in the future?

Brandon: We are in the process of adding a comprehensive record label solution, warehousing and fulfillment services, and a re-sizable and re-skinnable storefront. There are a handful of other really exciting things in the pipeline, but I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag yet.

Gotcha; no worries, so how long have you guys been building AL and can you provide some details about the team and your background?

Brandon: We founded Inhance Media in June of 2005 and Audiolife about one year ago. There are 3 founders: Brandon Hance, Aaron Wiener and Nishit Rathod. Aaron is the musician that we essentially built the business around. Nishit is a PhD computer scientist/musician and I was a music business major at USC and worked in the industry as a music manager prior to starting Audiolife.

Nice! Are you guys working full time on AL? If so, how are you all funded? Self, Angel, Venture, etc.?

Brandon: We’re working double time and we’re Angel Funded.

LOL! I definitely understand, can you provide any details about the angel round?

Brandon: We did a seed round, Series A, and Series A-1

Congrats! One last question, do you have any other info you would like to provide/share that we didn’t discuss?

Brandon: just that companies like Audiolife and Band Metrics give artists the power of a record label- they can literally run their entire business through us, but they still have to have the skill, discipline and drive to DO IT! I’ve found that artists get very excited about services (not just ours) but don’t get around to it. And this is the most exciting time in the history of the music industry for up-and-coming bands if they take advantage of all of the opportunities that are out there.

No doubt – well said Brandon!

Category: Business, Interview | 2 Comments »

Tags: band metrics, brandon hance, cd baby, duncan freeman, indie, indiemusictech, Music, tech

According to USA Today, Americans bought more music in 2008 than ever before, despite weak album sales. Nielsen’s year-end figures reveal that music purchases – CD, vinyl, cassette and digital purchases of entire albums (grouped together as total albums), plus digital track downloads, singles and music videos – attained a new high of 1.5 billion, up 10.5% over 2007.

What was interesting was that more than 70% of those transactions were digital track downloads. Track downloads outsold albums by a ratio of 2.5 to 1.

Nielsen’s president of music, Rob Sisco, stated that the music industry is “a marketplace in transition from physical to digital” and he sees promise in the rise of digital purchases of entire albums, which reached a high of 65.8 million in 2008.

This is a promising year for both indie and mainstream artists alike – it’s clearly evident that digital track downloads will continue its rapid growth through 2009. Now more than ever, uploading your songs online is vital to making money as an artist, and (as we’ve been saying again and again) updating your social network profiles will further stimulate those sales.

Category: Business | No Comments »

Tags: albums, cassette, cd, digital downloads, tracks, vinyl

Here are a few artists to keep an eye on in 2009 –

Eminem: Finally, the rapper’s first studio album in five years, “Relapse,” is set to release this year. We’re hoping he’ll give us an explanation for the last few years he’s been lying dormant – in Slim Shady style, of course.

No Doubt: After flying solo for two albums, Gwen Stefani is finally reuniting with her bandmates for a tour… and a new album! The group’s first since 2001.

U2: Look out for “No Line on the Horizon,” the band’s first album since 2004’s “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb,” on March 2.

The Soft Pack: One of the hottest bands out today, this San Diego/LA based group has garnered well deserved acclaim from Rolling Stone, Pitchfork and Stereogum. The unsigned band has generated interest from lables, so be sure to look for them to sign this year.

Lady GaGa: Her driving electronic beats have stirred the music scene late in 2008, but will sure to be front and center in 2009.

Green Day: The band’s follow-up to its career-best “American Idiot” is due sometime this year.
Bruce Springsteen: Following a new album this month (his fourth this decade), Mr. Springsteen will captivate America with a Super Bowl performance in February.

Kings of Leon: Their hit, “Sex on Fire,” took acclaim in 2008 and is sure to gain momentum in 2009.
Guns N Roses: “Freedom Through Chinese Democracy,” the album Roses fans have been waiting years for, has finally been released.

Tokio Hotel: You may remember these German boys cleaning up at the VMAs last year… or maybe you just remember lead singer Bill Kaulitz’s hair. Either way, this band will be catching your attention even more in 2009 as they continue to dominate the States.

And finally… I had to slip this in…
Britney Spears: Songs from her new album, “Circus,” have already hit the airwaves. Could this be Britney’s comeback year? Stay tuned…

It will interesting to track how these “top artists” build their online marketing and distribution strategies. Stay tuned…

Category: Music | 2 Comments »

Tags: 2009, artists to watch, top albums

Zune owners may not ring in the new year quite as well as they had hoped. Reports around the Web have surfaced that Zune first began freezing in the Midwest. Now, the Zune crash has spread across the country.

Microsoft stated that the outage affected only the 30GB Zune models and was caused by a problem with their internal clock. They expected the problem to clear up as the clocks ticked over to January 1st, however, users will have go through a lengthy process to get their Zunes back to normal, including letting the batteries die down completely before the devices will restart successfully.

Zune users who own the 30GB version of the player are reporting failures and lockups on a couple of sites. To see the complaints, check out Zune.net, ZuneUser and ZuneScene. The problem appears to be that when users reboot their Zune device, the status bar will reach 100 percent and then freeze.

The ‘Zune Crash’ at once drew comparisons to the Y2K programming problem that instigated fears about a widespread computer meltdown in 2000 when the machines ticked over to the new millennium.

Zunes owns nearly three-quarters of the MP3 market, compared with Zune’s single-digit market share, according to statistics from the NPD Group. But some users are stringently loyal, and newer Zunes have gotten positive reviews.

Category: Technology | No Comments »

Tags: mp3 player, new years, zune