16 Jun 2008, 2:58 pm / Almost Famous
Happy Monday - in my continuing series of blogs and bulletins I offfer you the fifth in the series - The SonicJive Manifesto
Article V - Let Go: Give Up Control
BUZZWORD: FREE MEDIA
Consumers - the people who buy your music and attend your shows - are in control. End of debate. Smart bands recognize this and embrace it rather than fight this powerful truth.
A long time ago (the 1990's) there was a one way process by which bands delivered music to their fans - radio. Now I know you will say your CD, however, not very many people will pull fifteen bucks out of their pocket for a CD of music which they have never heard.
Then websites became popular as the internet changed course, moving from a strictly informational resource to a marketing and networking resource. This allowed the consumers - again, the people who buy your music and attend your shows - to become active participants rather than strictly recipients, creating a two-way relationship between the marketer (bands, musicians, et al) and the consumers.
The once unspoken contract that radio provided between the musician and the listener has been re-written by the listener. The listener has control. You would be wise to listen to those voices as consumers now have 100% functionality to enjoy your music, endure your music or simply tune out.
So let me give you some ideas if I can pull on your ear for a few minutes more. I love stuff and this is good stuff.
* Crafty bands are using home computers and cheap software to create banner ads that rival those created by big agencies and posting them on social networking sites like MySpace, SonicJive.com and You Tube. Did you know that as a musician, you can place a rotating banner ad on SonicJive.com for about $1 per day?
* There are tens of millions of blogs on the internet and the number is growing daily. Check out SonicBytes at Blogspot.com and you will see I write CD Reviews. I also post them on MySpace, SonicJive.com, amazon.com and CD Baby. All you have to do to get a CD Review written is send me a request.
* Podcasting and internet radio stations like SonicJive Radio where anybody can create audio content on and for MP3 players when they want to (make it or listen to it or watch it), is changing the role of traditional media as the gatekeepers to consumers. SonicJive will pay you per listen - so when someone goes to your profile page on SonicJive.com and listens to your music - you will be earning money starting this fall. Imagine that.
* Other social networking sites such as SonicJive.com, Xanga, MySpace, Bebo and FaceBook are attracting huge numbers of young users. MySpace is of course a behemoth, wholly gotten to the point where 12% of all Internet Users log on, due to fabulous, time-released PR. Your band should be members on ALL of these sites - because the more faces that see your profiles, the more opportunities you create to attract loyal, controlling listeners.
Good Day all,
Michael
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