Promoting Yourself

['nuum general]

CONTENTS:

1. By Role
   
   1. Producers/MCs
   2. DJs
2. Utilizing The Internet
   
   1. Social Networking Sites
   2. Online Streaming
   3. Online File Hosting

Producers/MCs

1) Present yourself professionally, particularly when contacting someone for the first time as first impressions are lasting. Make sure spelling is correct and any files attached are tagged correctly (with title, artist name, contact info etc). If you are sending a tune out, it may be worth getting it mastered so it sounds more professional. Make sure tracks are in a suitable format; a 320kb MP3 file will be suitable for most cases (if you don't know about bit rates, read this). Also remember quality over quantity. Sending one track as a 320kb MP3 is more likely to get a listen than sending 15 tracks of varying bit rates. Finally do not hassle people, as it is annoying and they will ignore you in the future. Constantly asking people if they will play your track will not help it get played.

2) Be realistic - Sending your first tune to a top dj is unlikely to get it played. Instead do research, find out the djs that play music of a similar style by up & comers and send it to them instead. Tunes can often pick up momentum from being played by lesser known djs. Local DJs & DJs playing on pirate radio are the guys you probably should be aiming at.

3) Utilise the web - There are many ways other than myspace & facebook to promote music. Sites such as Soundcloud, Virb & Last FM are useful tools for getting tracks heard and getting feedback.

4) Producers - Buying ableton, or a pair of cd decks could prove a worthwhile investment as it opens up the avenue of live performance. It could open your music up to new people as well as potentially offering a new way of making a bit of money.

5) MCs - Get on radio or to a local youth club to practise spitting in a live environment. Stage presence is a massive element in emceeing and it can often be the difference between an average & a good mc. It will also make you aware to a wider audience.

DJs

1) Dig Dig Dig - Unless you are an established name, tunes do not come looking for you; you have to look for them. Get digging in local records shops & onlines stores such as Juno, Boomkat & 7 Digital and you're sure to find some hidden gems. Previously metioned sites Soundcloud, Virb & Last FM are also a good place to find tunes (the Soundclound dropbox is a useful tool). Having a unique style of selection can set you out from others.

2) Don't play bootlegs! It will get you blacklisted by producers when they find out and will only be a hold you back.

3) Be professional. Don't beg people for tracks, if you ask them and they say no then it will most likely be for a reason. Be polite when asking people for tracks as it will help you get results. Talking to people & getting to know them will also help.

4) Get live experience. Playing a couple of nights is worth 100 times more than playing in your bedroom. Whether it be a house party or a local night, it all helps. If you want to take it further you could even start your own night if there is not a local one you can get involved in.

5) Be innovative. Posting mixes on myspace, facebook etc is unlikely to get you heard beyond you friends. Pressing up some cds, sending mixes to promoters or entering dj competitions are more likely to get you heard. Think outside the box.

Utilizing The Web

Online Social Networking Sites (with artist/band support):

• Bebo
• Facebook
• Myspace

Online Audio Hosting:

• Divshare
• Mixcloud
• Soundcloud
• Supload
• Zshare

Online Video Hosting:

• Divshare
• Youtube
• Vimeo
• Zshare

Online File Hosting:

• BigandFree
• Divshare
• EnterUpload
• Filefront
• Hotfile
• Mediafire
• Megashares
• Megaupload
• Netload
• Rapidshare
• Storage.to
• Uploaded.to
• Zshare

Contributors: Webstarr, Wiz
Last Updated: 15/01/2010

[Wiz]

Stuff needed to update
Utilizing the web: priorities, descriptions, pros+cons

[MoneyMan]

sick thread, would rep, but is it possible 2 write a list of DJ's 2 contact? so there all in one place rather than having to look around sometimes to no avail.

[Lord Justice]

sick thread, would rep, but is it possible 2 write a list of DJ's 2 contact? so there all in one place rather than having to look around sometimes to no avail.

I'd suggested this a while ago. It was decided that this was a bad idea.

[Wiz]

Getting in contact with DJs:

There are several ways to get your music to DJs. Having direct contact with them is ideal however establishing that is another matter, so we'll start the advice assuming you've no contact with anyone in the industry at all.

A great way to distribute music is via email. It allows for sending via attachment and also by providing download links.

It's not always the easiest task finding out DJ email addresses however there are ways you can go about finding them out, and such ways also pose alternative communication methods as well that may be used instead of email.

• Social Networking Sites - by finding people on Twitter, Facebook, Myspace and the rest, you can easily put yourselves into contact with people that you need, the only problem is that this method of communication can be seen as much more informal, and can lead to attempts of communication going unnoticed or simply being ignored, it may be better to use these as ways of getting email addresses, rather than to use as tools of distribution - contact details may also be listed on profile pages
• Blogs - quite a few DJs run blogs which will have their contact details listed, you may sometimes find a Soundcloud 'dropbox' on their blog/site that you can send them tracks with
• Radio websites - radio websites sometimes list contact details for their DJs
• Media hosting websites - (e.g. Youtube, Soundcloud, Mixcloud) if DJs have accounts on media hosting websites they will sometimes have contact details listed, and if not, the website usually has some sort of messaging system that you could use to get into contact with them

Once you've established communication with a few DJs it may be easier to get in contact with more through association and recommendation, and once your music is getting played it may create a demand of DJs seeking to contact you.

[Justin Urendz]

Courseeee

[Wiz]

The latest Computer Music magazine should be full of ideas

[thelabel]

this is very useful

[nicodemusflower]

This is organised and well thought out. Great move.

[mad recordings]

yhh big

[swiftmusic]

nice info on this thread

[hoodman]

nice 1 nice

[BeeMAN]

good link and good info, nice one

['nuum general]

If you going to be pressing up vinyl then make sure the tunes you are signing are big enough to sell the amount of copies you are going to need to shift to break even. Just selling them to Grime fans is not good enough, unfortunately you aren't going to shift 300 copies that way. You are going to need to get some Dubstep/Garage/Funky DJ's playing the songs as well. Get some DJ's opinions on the tunes to see if they rate them and if they would play them. I think that having Starkey, DJ EZ, Blazey and Mensah play songs from the first EP on my label has helped get a wider audience aware of the tunes. Starkey included one tune in his Resident Advisor mix and Elijah & Skilliam started their FACT mix with Murderer and again both of those mixes went out to a much wider audience than just this forum.

Once you are confident your song selection is strong enough approach the distributors. Try ST Holdings, Baked Goods and Rubadub. They are going to have to rate the tunes as well if they are going to be pushing them to their customers. A couple of distributors I tried wanted to know what I was planning for the second, third, fourth releases and when I would be planning to do an album/CD and as I am only planning one release at a time I couldn't answer that so they weren't interested.

If you can't get a distribution deal then there is no point pressing up the vinyl as you won't shift them on your own. Digital is different as the costs are low. All you need to do is get the tracks mastered and sign up to one of those companies that get music on itunes etc for you. If you have a vinyl distribution deal then your distributor will do this with you.

Get a Soundcloud & Myspace account and upload snippets of the tracks.

Once your distribution deal is sorted you need to push the release to as many DJ's as you can. Don't just send it to Logan, Spyro, Vectra, Elijah & Skilliam and JJ and think that is you done. Push it to Dubstep/Garage/Funky & Bassline DJ's as well. A lot of them can be contacted through Myspace, Soundcloud and Twitter.

Send the tunes off to the pressing plant to be mastered and start planning your release date. The mistake I made was announcing the release date too early and then it had to be put back twice due to problems I couldn't plan for. Give a vague date and then announce the exact date when you have the Test Presses in your hand.

It could take 5-6 weeks to get the final copies done and to the distributor, maybe longer if there is a problem along the way. Get a good name and logo for the label and get some labels designed, printed and off to the pressing plant. They will have a company they normally use.

Once the records are pressed you will need to pay for a courier to take the vinyl from the plant to the distributor.

I use Music House so check the Spooky EP if you want to see how their mastering sounds. A lot of other Grime releases are done there as well.

A lot of the Dubstep labels use Transition but it was too expensive for me on a press of 300 units and the margins would have been too small. Other than that there is The Vinyl Factory and Curved Pressings.

Just make sure the tunes you sign are of a really high quality and promote it everywhere 'cough' http://boomkat.com/vinyl/310922-spooky-murderer-ep

I have only just got my first release in the shops so I'm sure there are others on here who know more about the process but that is what I have found out so far. Hope that helps and good luck.

+++ be prepared to lose money.

.

[FRMN]

Click here to watch the video on YouTube.

Firman is the new group from Sweden. The masked trio is taking over..

MYSPACE

[Killz]

I think you been real and actually achievable here, the only question I would say for example theres a lot of areas without local youth clubs for music and radio, what could be a good alternative, obviously youtube is massive and everyone can see, but you have to get on an already established channel?

[v-i]

its all about promoting your music and ya hard work, heres some of my beats, any mcs, or djs that wanna use em holla me........
http://www.reverbnation.com/artist/c...kkleKollektive

[Wiz]

Making an iTunes subscribable podcast with Soundcloud
http://docs.google.com/View?id=dfxg6sjr_273p537zgd

'cause I see guys posting their mixes all the time, this is a good way to be able to get it out to more people, or a more convenient way to get it out to constant downloaders




















,

[kane]

yh i need a few beats

[The Elijah]

Moving to room 1 for a bit, thought it would be helpful for a lot of people that regularly pass here but dont check the studio