It is no secret that You Tube is a great medium to share and promote your band and music. According to several web sites You tube has over 120 million viewers, and the last article I read headlined "13 billion videos on You Tube for 135.7 million Viewers in April" (Article can be found here: http://www.reelseo.com/13-billion-videos-april/ ). This article by the way was written a year ago.
So there is a ready and willing market for musicians if you can tap into this pool of potential fans. Yes, it is true, I am not the first to state the obvious but the point of this blog is to state a sad truth and offer a solution. In my search for indie and unsigned bands, many of whcih have great music samples on their websites or here on Reverbnation, but when it comes to video....uggghhhh.
Fans like to share. Keep this in mind, and a quick scroll through a music fan's Facebook page may reaffirm this. And the last thing I want to share or promote on twitter is a cell phone clip with distorted noise. Not the best way to get friends and family to click "Like" let alone get a stranger to check out the band on their own. I realize some of these vids are posted by fans who attended a show, and I am not directing this toward them. I am referring to those bands who post and promote them on their own channels.
But have no fear, there is an answer! Recently I have bought a MAC. With said MAC came a program called iMovie. (NOTE: I am not promoting a specific platform! ) But with this I have been able to create (with permission) a few fan made videos using music I have downloaded. They are simple clips with band images and logos flashing on the screen, but most important they include a clean track that fans can enjoy and be proud to share.
I am not sure if Windows has anything similar since I have just entered this arena myself, however If you are in a band and want to promote via video and are limited in budget and time I have offered a simple answer. It takes me about 10 minutes to create a video and costs me whatever the electric company charges to run my machine for that long. It may take another 5 minutes to uplaod it to You Tube, and the rest is linking and sharing. Which is the fun part.
So all you Indie or Unsigned bands out there, just save some band pics and include a track and promote yourselves to your loyal fans and millions of potential fans.
Reply
Ok, I have been thinking, and have been asked to do some sort of webcast. So now I am ready to research this idea and in the future, possibly create a one hour "radio" show that features the artists I find on reverbnation and elsewhere.
I have found a site called "ShoutCast" that is free, and this may be where I start. However, I am new to this and am looking for ideas and other suggestions.
If you know of any other free sites or have any advice on this adventure I am about to undertake, please feel free to offer your suggestions.
Thanks to everyone,
-Fisty (aka @Thundertit on twitter)
Reply
You may recognize this familiar question/exclamation. Perhaps while airing out your bedroom as a concerned parent pounded on the door, demanding an explanation for the "foul odor" permeating the house. Or, you may recall the raspy refrain from the 4 Non Blondes hit "Whats Up". Yes, the musical question posed by Linda Perry has now been turned inward toward the state of the music industry today.
Back in the day (eh hem...sorry, I'm 45 but still want to sound hip) radio was easy. You could tune to your local rock station and know immediately who was playing. Each band had a distinctive sound and personality, and this diversity made "Rock and Roll" in the 70's and early 80's a glorious thing. When I was a kid I could tell the difference between The Who and Jimi Hendrix in a split second. Morrison's haunting voice and eerie Manzarek keyboard against Page's Les Paul and Plants heart felt voice immediately.
Even in the mid 70's to early 80's the new wave and punk sound could be distinguished. At times you may hear of a new band such as Van Halen or U2...and in the early 80's the voice of Rob Halford, screaming for vengeance, stood on its own as it finally crossed the air waves with Ozzy. Through the sights of our Sex Pisotls, our X-Ray Spex focused on the evolution of Devo. Not even the trauma of a Teenage Lobotomy could Cure our addiction to Pixie stix. Well...you get the point.
Back then you could expect a new offering almost every year from the reliable heavy hitters. Stadiums were filled...and then...then...came the period of the one hit wonder. Radio stations clamored to the beat of just one drum at a time, so it seemed. The 90's came and there was a mix "main-stayers" and one hitters. Unfortunately, this was short lived. As time passed, something seemed to go awry. Something that the old school music fan just could not put his sticky fingers on.
The boy band emerged. The manufactured for the masses, pay to play and play it like the last one caught the eye of the major record labels. Even the so-called "Alternative" radio stations fell victim. Trust me, if you regard Nickleback and Kid Rock as "Alternative", you need to go back to the School of Rock. Today, I can't turn on the radio without hearing a song wondering, "Who the hell is this, are they playing an album from the same band?"
Today, it appears that diversity is dead. Originality a thing of the past. Packing stadiums after being pushed by Disney and a repetitive chant of "you like them" is now the measure of success. I don't know who the A&R's are for the so-called Major Labels, but it leaves me looking back along this long and winding road asking the musical question...Whats Goin' On!
Your thoughts?
Reply
This is a question for all unsigned artists, and for labels as well. Artists, do you really want a label? Why or why not. Labels, what do you offer bands or artists?
What are the pros and cons?
This is a question purely from a fan standpoint.
Reply
Fisty McBeefpunch / Blog
Video That Killed The Future Star
It is no secret that You Tube is a great medium to share and promote your band and music. According to several web sites You tube has over 120 million viewers, and the last article I read headlined "13 billion videos on You Tube for 135.7 million Viewers in April" (Article can be found here: http://www.reelseo.com/13-billion-videos-april/ ). This article by the way was written a year ago.
So there is a ready and willing market for musicians if you can tap into this pool of potential fans. Yes, it is true, I am not the first to state the obvious but the point of this blog is to state a sad truth and offer a solution. In my search for indie and unsigned bands, many of whcih have great music samples on their websites or here on Reverbnation, but when it comes to video....uggghhhh.
Fans like to share. Keep this in mind, and a quick scroll through a music fan's Facebook page may reaffirm this. And the last thing I want to share or promote on twitter is a cell phone clip with distorted noise. Not the best way to get friends and family to click "Like" let alone get a stranger to check out the band on their own. I realize some of these vids are posted by fans who attended a show, and I am not directing this toward them. I am referring to those bands who post and promote them on their own channels.
But have no fear, there is an answer! Recently I have bought a MAC. With said MAC came a program called iMovie. (NOTE: I am not promoting a specific platform! ) But with this I have been able to create (with permission) a few fan made videos using music I have downloaded. They are simple clips with band images and logos flashing on the screen, but most important they include a clean track that fans can enjoy and be proud to share.
I am not sure if Windows has anything similar since I have just entered this arena myself, however If you are in a band and want to promote via video and are limited in budget and time I have offered a simple answer. It takes me about 10 minutes to create a video and costs me whatever the electric company charges to run my machine for that long. It may take another 5 minutes to uplaod it to You Tube, and the rest is linking and sharing. Which is the fun part.
So all you Indie or Unsigned bands out there, just save some band pics and include a track and promote yourselves to your loyal fans and millions of potential fans.
Reply
Internet Radio Show?
Ok, I have been thinking, and have been asked to do some sort of webcast. So now I am ready to research this idea and in the future, possibly create a one hour "radio" show that features the artists I find on reverbnation and elsewhere.
I have found a site called "ShoutCast" that is free, and this may be where I start. However, I am new to this and am looking for ideas and other suggestions.
If you know of any other free sites or have any advice on this adventure I am about to undertake, please feel free to offer your suggestions.
Thanks to everyone,
-Fisty (aka @Thundertit on twitter)
Reply
Right now I am working on a podcast program for MInetradio. So stay tuned!
Another update: Right now my work schedule has gone ape shite crazy. I have been working 7-8 day stretches and have not been able to focus on this project. But once things slow down a bit I will try to get back on this project. If anything, I am now considering doing a video blog and posting on you tube with the same format. Once I figure things out and get some quality sleep I will begin working on something. :)
Whats goin' on!
You may recognize this familiar question/exclamation. Perhaps while airing out your bedroom as a concerned parent pounded on the door, demanding an explanation for the "foul odor" permeating the house. Or, you may recall the raspy refrain from the 4 Non Blondes hit "Whats Up". Yes, the musical question posed by Linda Perry has now been turned inward toward the state of the music industry today.
Back in the day (eh hem...sorry, I'm 45 but still want to sound hip) radio was easy. You could tune to your local rock station and know immediately who was playing. Each band had a distinctive sound and personality, and this diversity made "Rock and Roll" in the 70's and early 80's a glorious thing. When I was a kid I could tell the difference between The Who and Jimi Hendrix in a split second. Morrison's haunting voice and eerie Manzarek keyboard against Page's Les Paul and Plants heart felt voice immediately.
Even in the mid 70's to early 80's the new wave and punk sound could be distinguished. At times you may hear of a new band such as Van Halen or U2...and in the early 80's the voice of Rob Halford, screaming for vengeance, stood on its own as it finally crossed the air waves with Ozzy. Through the sights of our Sex Pisotls, our X-Ray Spex focused on the evolution of Devo. Not even the trauma of a Teenage Lobotomy could Cure our addiction to Pixie stix. Well...you get the point.
Back then you could expect a new offering almost every year from the reliable heavy hitters. Stadiums were filled...and then...then...came the period of the one hit wonder. Radio stations clamored to the beat of just one drum at a time, so it seemed. The 90's came and there was a mix "main-stayers" and one hitters. Unfortunately, this was short lived. As time passed, something seemed to go awry. Something that the old school music fan just could not put his sticky fingers on.
The boy band emerged. The manufactured for the masses, pay to play and play it like the last one caught the eye of the major record labels. Even the so-called "Alternative" radio stations fell victim. Trust me, if you regard Nickleback and Kid Rock as "Alternative", you need to go back to the School of Rock. Today, I can't turn on the radio without hearing a song wondering, "Who the hell is this, are they playing an album from the same band?"
Today, it appears that diversity is dead. Originality a thing of the past. Packing stadiums after being pushed by Disney and a repetitive chant of "you like them" is now the measure of success. I don't know who the A&R's are for the so-called Major Labels, but it leaves me looking back along this long and winding road asking the musical question...Whats Goin' On!
Your thoughts?
Reply
"To be...or not to be...Signed"
This is a question for all unsigned artists, and for labels as well. Artists, do you really want a label? Why or why not. Labels, what do you offer bands or artists?
What are the pros and cons?
This is a question purely from a fan standpoint.
Reply