How to release a Single independently to gain a buzz???

[Rob.Cohen]

Ok. so, long story short, i've been producing a few local up and coming artists. We come up with some really cool stuff and will just continue making more music. A demo version 1 has been completed, mixed and mastered, and has been pitched to record labels in little ways so far.

The solution to not getting this artist signed so far seems to be releasing a couple singles independently and getting him performing more shows until his buzz has a respectable record label interested.

This is the "how?" after the mixing and mastering process, how would you go about releasing a single? costs? marketing? duplication? etc...

maybe even going to a smaller independent record label first?

Any kinds of input on this would be great before I plunge in to it without any gearslutz guidance. I feel confident that I know what to do, problem is, as always, financing...

let me know what you all think, thanks.

[XHipHop]

I would send it to nahright, allhiphop, hiphopdx, http://www.crazedhits.com/, etc (lots more! do your research)

Seach the hypemachine blog search for artists that sound like your artist and then submit to blogs that are covering them.

Use google alerts to get alerts for artists that sound similar/have similar fans to your artist and then hit up those blogs and see if they want to host your mp3.

Submit it here music alley so that it is available for free to podcasters.

Sell your single on itunes, amazon, etc by using tunecore.

Put that track on youtube and think of a creative way to get people to go to it.

All of this can be done for about $40 and can get you about 20,000+ listens if things work out well.

That crazedhits blog i mentioned above gets looked at by a lot of A&R folks, too.

As far as pressing a physical record...go for it if you think there is a market for it but I don't know anyone wanting to buy a physical single these days.

[illacov]

how about generating a big local following and proving that people actually like your product.

News articles, reviews, airplay on local radio stations (college and local late night spots for starters), handing off promo copies to djs. Making radio edits. Getting in touch with any local edgier art galleries, skate shops, coffee shops.


Performing in local venues, opening for bigger more established local acts to gain exposure and recognition.

All of these things and even more, can get you recognition and a start on building your name up in the music scene, local and at large.

There is no magic bullet to getting a record deal and I personally am rather happy with representing myself and doing shows. I sell records on Itunes and other digital aggregators, sell physical copies, as well as t shirts, posters and stickers.

I think getting signed has it's pluses and seems more glamorous but you really should learn the business of self promotion and financial perpetuity before you worry about signing on with someone else.

Peace
Illumination

[XHipHop]

Also, here is some info on how to put together a remix contest.

Could get your single heard by a lot more people:

SoundCloud » Blog Archive » 5+1 Easy Steps To Set Up Your Remix Competition With SoundCloud

(and maybe you can release the remixes as an EP with the original single)

[PhonoquO]

Originally Posted by XHipHop

I would send it to nahright, allhiphop, hiphopdx, http://www.crazedhits.com/, etc (lots more! do your research)

Seach the hypemachine blog search for artists that sound like your artist and then submit to blogs that are covering them.

Use google alerts to get alerts for artists that sound similar/have similar fans to your artist and then hit up those blogs and see if they want to host your mp3.

Submit it here music alley so that it is available for free to podcasters.

Sell your single on itunes, amazon, etc by using tunecore.

Put that track on youtube and think of a creative way to get people to go to it.

All of this can be done for about $40 and can get you about 20,000+ listens if things work out well.

That crazedhits blog i mentioned above gets looked at by a lot of A&R folks, too.

As far as pressing a physical record...go for it if you think there is a market for it but I don't know anyone wanting to buy a physical single these days.

good info lad!

[Chris Lago]

The internet is opening lots of doors for artists, the only problem is, there are tons competing against one another. What is the solution? Write/produce the catchiest, undeniably great sounding music out there. I'm not talking about artsy stuff, I'm talking about music that would compete against other artists currently on the radio. Use myspace, facebook, twitter, youtube and build a fanbase that way. I'm in a very unfortunate situation, where not a lot of people around my region would support my music, unless it was more rock-oriented or unless I released it with a decent label. On the flipside, I'm able to reach fans elsewhere and build a fanbase. On myspace, I noticed in the visitor stats that 70 percent of my fans are from the US, 20% of them from California and only 10% in Canada alone! What do you think I do? I promote my music to people from there, and it works wonders, I also promote my music at a certain niche of people. I know who my fans are, mostly because I aim at people who have the same taste as me. It's not hard, what the fans like from your music is most likely what you like too. Once you figure out who your fanbase is, get the music to them and make sure the songs are Radio Quality in terms of sonics.

I hope this helps a bit.

[PhonoquO]

Originally Posted by illacov

how about generating a big local following and proving that people actually like your product.

News articles, reviews, airplay on local radio stations (college and local late night spots for starters), handing off promo copies to djs. Making radio edits. Getting in touch with any local edgier art galleries, skate shops, coffee shops.


Performing in local venues, opening for bigger more established local acts to gain exposure and recognition.

All of these things and even more, can get you recognition and a start on building your name up in the music scene, local and at large.

There is no magic bullet to getting a record deal and I personally am rather happy with representing myself and doing shows. I sell records on Itunes and other digital aggregators, sell physical copies, as well as t shirts, posters and stickers.

I think getting signed has it's pluses and seems more glamorous but you really should learn the business of self promotion and financial perpetuity before you worry about signing on with someone else.

Peace
Illumination

good info also! you guys covered the internet and the grassroots deal. Good!

[Mr.Amokk]

Originally Posted by Rob.Cohen

Ok. so, long story short, i've been producing a few local up and coming artists. We come up with some really cool stuff and will just continue making more music. A demo version 1 has been completed, mixed and mastered, and has been pitched to record labels in little ways so far.

The solution to not getting this artist signed so far seems to be releasing a couple singles independently and getting him performing more shows until his buzz has a respectable record label interested.

This is the "how?" after the mixing and mastering process, how would you go about releasing a single? costs? marketing? duplication? etc...

maybe even going to a smaller independent record label first?

Any kinds of input on this would be great before I plunge in to it without any gearslutz guidance. I feel confident that I know what to do, problem is, as always, financing...

let me know what you all think, thanks.

No.1 thing to do is post some songs for us to hear.
You not the fellow slutz can be the biggest critics in the world.
This way you can see if you can get a buzz on GS for now.
Also you'll never know who's watching

[PopularDemand]

Using the internet alone will not create a buzz or urgency. The internet is good publicity for those who are already famous and known. ie- Acts that have already been on major labels and have a following. Their fans get on the net looking for them. Others are affiliated with a big time known crew and been on songs with their known crew members and gain fans that way.

Trying to get known using the internet only you are competing with about 500 million myspace, soundclick, reverbnation, etc. artists doing the same thing. Next to impossible to discover something if you aren't looking for it in that 500 million pool.

Look how many aspiring artists send their email blasts out, get a logo and call themselves a record label, a myspace, etc page, and get something on worldstarhiphop or allhiphop and nothing ever happens. The pinnacle of their success is putting out a mixtape and becoming local heroes to their hood only.

The tried and true methods still work today and you need a few dollars to bring in those 400 BDS spins/week and make sure you have 2 hot to death singles- known features help. Those spins will get you more paid shows and exposure and once you hit 400/wk they will come looking for you to sign. Still done today. Witnessed it in the past and just did it with my artist to a major.

[3rd Degree]

The internet gives you all the tools you need. The problem is that it gives everyone the tools they need and has become relatively hard to reach people unless you are really unique and can get people to talk about you to friends and others off the net.

You said shows. Shows are good in many ways. The artist should get paid for one. It is great advertising as people arn't going to walk away unless the artist is terrible. Lastly, it puts a vivid visual to the fan so they want to look into the person more if they like them.

The other thing is college radio. In my area, there are enough artists to fill the good spots so someone new would have trouble getting on at a good time but it could be worth while, depending on the station.

Then keep an internet presence. You need to have one, I just wouldn't count on it to gain much success, it should be there for fans when you are successful in other ways.

[Rob.Cohen]

ok thanks for the advice everyone.

im going to check into all of your suggestions but just another question about performing shows. Should we be selling cd's or anything else at the shows?

pros and cons of this???

thanks again everyone

[Keyflo]

Start locally, then get enough ppl to lsten... if its really good they will blast the radio stations...also perform at alot of shows in NY NJ (you never know who will pop up)...then there;s of course social networking twitter, youtube, vimeo and that good stuff....I kno sson as we puit my boy album out thats what im doing, we hav a couple of enjoyable songs so we'll see

[Rob.Cohen]

Originally Posted by Mr.Amokk

No.1 thing to do is post some songs for us to hear.
You not the fellow slutz can be the biggest critics in the world.
This way you can see if you can get a buzz on GS for now.
Also you'll never know who's watching

If you wanna hear some of the stuff were working on check out his myspace.com/lilmookworld

I can post some higher quality files tho if you want, i jus dont have time at the moment.

[131242313424]

Originally Posted by Rob.Cohen

Ok. so, long story short, i've been producing a few local up and coming artists. We come up with some really cool stuff and will just continue making more music. A demo version 1 has been completed, mixed and mastered, and has been pitched to record labels in little ways so far.

The solution to not getting this artist signed so far seems to be releasing a couple singles independently and getting him performing more shows until his buzz has a respectable record label interested.

This is the "how?" after the mixing and mastering process, how would you go about releasing a single? costs? marketing? duplication? etc...

maybe even going to a smaller independent record label first?

Any kinds of input on this would be great before I plunge in to it without any gearslutz guidance. I feel confident that I know what to do, problem is, as always, financing...

let me know what you all think, thanks.

maybe he should spend more time on being original in his tracks... and not on his image

[Darwin James]

Originally Posted by Rob.Cohen

If you wanna hear some of the stuff were working on check out his myspace.com/lilmookworld

Ugh. Another black dude that raps, with diamond ear rings, baggy jeans, nothing interesting to say, trendy "i wish i was tupac" tattoos, flashing cash, etc. Havent seen or heard this 232924328584753489321874 times.

[Nahuel]

Originally Posted by Darwin James

Ugh. Another black dude that raps, with diamond ear rings, baggy jeans, nothing interesting to say, trendy "i wish i was tupac" tattoos, flashing cash, etc. Havent seen or heard this 232924328584753489321874 times.

what's the hidden message?

[thefirehooligan]

Make clean versions, i mean real clean versions. Submit them to local radio stations, College radio, and to record pools (Try Crateconnect.net). Get them out to DJ networks and as many blogs and music reviewers as possible.

[FreshFuzion]

i know this thread is over 2 yrs old. stumbled on it while researching on the internet. just wondering if anyone feels this advice is still relevant? if anyone is paying this thread any attention, let me know what you think about this strategy:

1. release video on youtube until it reaches 10k views.
- promote video on our twitter & fb pages
- use bubbles to promote release date on itunes.
2. after video reaches 10k views, start fb ad campaigns.
3. once video gains some momentum promote to blogosphere.
- will use a lot of the tips i found from here.

here is the video if anyone cares. post a comment and let me know what you think.



apologies upfront if this is not the right venue to post video in.

[DesmondA]

Originally Posted by FreshFuzion

i know this thread is over 2 yrs old. stumbled on it while researching on the internet. just wondering if anyone feels this advice is still relevant? if anyone is paying this thread any attention, let me know what you think about this strategy:

1. release video on youtube until it reaches 10k views.
- promote video on our twitter & fb pages
- use bubbles to promote release date on itunes.
2. after video reaches 10k views, start fb ad campaigns.
3. once video gains some momentum promote to blogosphere.
- will use a lot of the tips i found from here.

here is the video if anyone cares. post a comment and let me know what you think.



apologies upfront if this is not the right venue to post video in.

Damn, that is dope!

[psycho_monkey]

Originally Posted by FreshFuzion

apologies upfront if this is not the right venue to post video in.

Maybe next time read the "rules" sticky? it's there for everyone...

[FreshFuzion]

Originally Posted by psycho_monkey

Maybe next time read the "rules" sticky? it's there for everyone...

sounds like a good idea... if i had the time i would, but i would hope that if it wasnt the right venue someone would be so kind enough to point me in the right direction...

[FreshFuzion]

Originally Posted by DesmondA

Damn, that is dope!

thx

[Studio507]

I'm not sure if it's been mentioned, but hire a publicist. They'll do a lot of the legwork being described in the first few posts for a fee...research some, find out who they've worked for and pay em the $ they want and it'll get things moving much quicker than you probably can on your own...

[sopre]

Originally Posted by Studio507

I'm not sure if it's been mentioned, but hire a publicist. They'll do a lot of the legwork being described in the first few posts for a fee...research some, find out who they've worked for and pay em the $ they want and it'll get things moving much quicker than you probably can on your own...

Hi Parkz, you do a real great job and returning peoples msgs.

[FLYINGJAY]

Originally Posted by sopre

Hi Parkz, you do a real great job and returning peoples msgs.

LOL

Sent from my PC36100 using Gearslutz App

[FreshFuzion]

Originally Posted by Studio507

I'm not sure if it's been mentioned, but hire a publicist. They'll do a lot of the legwork being described in the first few posts for a fee...research some, find out who they've worked for and pay em the $ they want and it'll get things moving much quicker than you probably can on your own...

thanks for the advice. looked at them a while back, but they weren't in the budget for this project. now that im learning more about this industry might be time to revisit that concept.

i do have a publicist that i use for my company, but his clients are corporate or pro athletes. does that make a difference? if not do you know any that work with starving artists on a shoestring budget?

[Studio507]

^ I would try and get one that works in the music business, hopefully with clients that are in the same Genre as you...I'd do some research if I was you, figure out who's out there, give them a call and try and work something out. Maybe if they're out of your budget they have someone they can refer you to who'll work for a little less...

[BeatGenerals]

Saw some blogs listed but one that comes to mind is the 2dopeboyz blog, its popular and they show love to up and coming artists a lot from what ive seen.