You can check out the Fall Out Boy game at http://www.friendsorenemies.com/cp/fobtrail/

While bands have been integrated into games for years, this one is sponsored by the band specifically to promote their new album.  It isn’t a game company who wants music to go with their game, and it isn’t Garage Band making a game out of the music.  This is just a pure promotional device.  I’m sure this is going to get more popular all the time.

So, what can you do similar?  You can make something fun on a website for your fans that displays you, your music, and your tour dates also.  Maybe something like a scavenger hunt… plant your songs in different places on social media, blogs, websites all over the net.  There are plenty of free resources for this.  Anyone submitting a list of the items and where they were found gets a prize.  That’s just one possibility.  Brainstorm for a few minutes and I’m sure you can come up with some nutty but fun online promotion for your band.  And once you set it up, promote it like it’s the greatest idea since sliced bread.

The possibilities for promoting your band are endless.  It just takes a little thought to come up with an idea, and then, a lot of work to implement it.

Amazon has a feature called the “advantage program.” You will find it on their home page. When you click on the link, it will send you to a page that lists all of their advantage programs. Click on “Advantage for Music.”

The down side is that they take a whopping 55% of the price of your CD. Although you set your own price, it still means that you are only making a 45% profit. It is high, but do it anyway.  Why? Because as we’ve said in other articles at MusicMarketingCenter.com,, at this moment the money is not in the sale of records it’s in performing live and merchandise. Having your music on Amazon will probably not make you a ton of bucks, but it will get your name out there.  And remember, if you were selling through a traditional label, you’d be really lucky to get 15%.

The advantage program costs $29.95 per year to join. There are no contracts so you are free to sell your music anywhere and through anyone else you want. They also give you your own web page. If you want to give away a free mp3 of a song for people to test drive your music, you can do that too. You can check your sales and stock and add titles.

They will take as little as two CDs to start. You pay for the shipping to get them to Amazon. When your inventory starts running low, they will send you an e-mail telling you to send more. You are paid at the end of the month.

If your record isn’t quite finished, you can still enroll and they will put a “Pre-Order button” on your page.

You also need a bar code on your CD that can be scanned. If you don’t have one or if you need to manufacture your CD, Amazon has a company called createspace that will do it for you.  There are also some third parties that help you get your own barcode for around $20.

You want to sell your music on as many sites as possible and Amazon should be added to your list. It is especially good for musicians starting out because it’s an established site that takes care of the tedious business stuff such as compiling stats, shipping your CD and processing credit cards. It’s enrollment form is very easy to fill out. For a few bucks, it’s really a no brainer way to sell your music.

Besides, the next time someone asks you if they can buy your music, what’s going to make them think of you as a star?  Saying ‘Oh, OK, let me go home and get one and the next time I see you, you can give me the $15′ or… ‘Sure, just go to Amazon and order it.’

Several years ago, the thing that really pushed Myspace into the major leagues was that it was a great place for bands to show themselves off.  A couple of the big tours connected themselves with Myspace, and the popularity of the bands is what got people to try out the service.

With it’s recently launched Myspace Music, they are trying to become the biggest seller of music online.  Will it work?  I sort of doubt it. But, they are trying.  Right now, you can listen to U2’s new album on Myspace Music.  It’s the only place it is available until March 3.  And, you can’t even buy it yet, you can only listen to it while streaming.  You can add it to a playlist, but no legal downloads yet.

U2 may be the biggest band in the world right now.  They are certainly in the top 10.  It will be interesting to see if this exclusive release will make much difference to Myspace.  In any case, are you on Myspace?  Are you actively updating your profile there and staying in contact with your fans?  You should be.  Even with slipping in the ratings, Myspace still caters in a lot of ways to bands, and there are still millions and millions of users who go there all the time.

Yes, Myspace may be sooooooo 2007, but it is still hanging in like Gunga Din, and if you are ignoring it, you are ignoring a large chunk of possible fans.

In case you never noticed, Bob Dylan and Madonna can’t sing very well, but that didn’t stop them from achieving rock stardom.  It doesn’t really matter to me if you can sing or play your instruments.  Just make some noise, call it a song, and sell your music.

In Bob Dylan’s case, the guy has a bad voice and that’s it. He probably should have seen a doctor about his nasal problems, but he never tried to hide it or fix it. His huge ego probably had something to do with not caring what he sounded like, but it doesn’t really matter. He wrote and sang great songs that spoke to and represented a generation. And frankly, his fans like his voice.  There are probably some people that like the sound of chalk on a blackboard also.  What the heck, I can listen to Lou Reed all day long.

On the other hand, Madonna does care. She has a vocal coach (unfortunately, it didn’t help much) and she sings to her own backing tracks using a harmonizer. This was a kind of open industry secret until Elton John (for some reason never fully explained) told the whole world. But fans knew something was up at Live Aid when the soundmen couldn’t sink up the tracks properly and she had to sing without them. It was glossed over in the press by saying Madonna had an off day.  She really just had an off voice.

The whether singing to your own backing tracks is cheating or not debate is back in the news with Jennifer Hudson and YoYo Ma. Truthfully, it doesn’t matter one bit and that is good news for the tunefully challenged. You can (as we used to say) “fix it in the mix” in the comfort of your own home studio.

Backing tracks are made by putting your vocal line on as many tracks as possible. That will make a thin sounding voice fuller and stronger. For those who have trouble staying on key, a harmonizer is something to invest in. This is a fantastic invention for the ‘hard of singing,’ and you can now buy one for your home studio. It takes all the wobbly notes, the sharps and the flats notes out. In a way it makes your voice sound the best it can. In a professional recording studio, it’s not only used for the lead vocalist, but for harmonies because it makes them sound super tight.

Hmmm. I wonder if I can get a waterproof one of those harmonizer gizmos for my shower?

Now you can be confident in your vocal abilities even if they don’t exist. Start recording now, so that you can go out and sell your music. Rejoice in your bad voice.  Yes, even if you sound like  Edith singing the theme from ‘All in the Family you can still make hit records.  Isn’t technology a wonderful thing?

As my dear friend, Alfred E. Newman would say, “What, Me Worry?”  People are saying it is going to kill the small venues.  Bull.  It may end up giving indie artists and clubs a big shot in the arm.  Music has been about rebelling against ‘the man’ since before that term was even coined.  Rock and Roll is all about being a rebel.  The big bullies aren’t going to be able to stop small clubs from letting the exciting new bands play there, and charge an admission price that is 10% of the Ticketron Nation.  Or even free so they can sell more beer.

Let the old farts play at the big venues, charge $500 per ticket, and make all the money they want.  Yeah, it might be harder to see the Stones or Springsteen, but it might just revitalize the music scene.  As far as a monopoly… that will only last as long as the listening public remain sheep and follow the corporate decisions of who they should like. 

Unfortunately, most people are mindless sheep and will follow whoever instructs them with the loudest voice.  But, should they ever wake up, and start listening to new music and enjoying the music rather than following peer pressure, that monopoly will fold and collapse.  And then, all the bands that became popular through grassroots movements will move up the ladder and fill those big halls.

Of course, then some other monopoly may take control again and ruin things, but music has always come in waves.  Let’s just ride this one out and see what beach has the best music.

Not so long ago, copyrights on music didn’t last that long.  A few years, and it was done.  Then, publishers got lawmakers to change the rules in their favor.  For almost the last century, publishers had it great.  It was pretty difficult to steal the songs… well, sort of.  They had a lot of complaints when cassettes came out and people could record off the radio or a record. 

Today, technology has overtaken the laws on music copyrights.  It is so easy to upload and share music illegally that a large majority of the public does it without thinking twice.  So, now, instead of being afraid that someone might start stealing your music, you should probably just assume it.

The wonderful people here at Music Marketing Center understand your fears in this unsettled and volatile industry.  You have a couple choices regarding selling your music… either do it, make some money, get your name out there, and let some people steal it, 

or…

Don’t sell your music.  Just keep it in your head, locked away in your little room.  Sit there never making any money, never getting any fame or fortune, but delighted that no one stole any of your music. 

Chances are you’re going to get ripped off in some way anyway so don’t let it stop you from moving forward with your music career.  100 years ago you would have been ripped off by the concert halls not paying you for your performance.  50 years ago, you would have been ripped off by promoters and record labels cheating on the accounting and making you sign legal documents that took away all your ownership of your music.  Today, you’ll get ripped off by the fans who will end up buying your merchandise, buying concert tickets, and telling all their friends how great you are.  Personally, I’ll take today’s rip off.

That being said, you have to do your best to protect your music. Copyrighting it is a must (see our past article about how to apply for a copyright). Also, you may want to sign up with a licensing  company like ASCAP or BMI. The copyright is proof that you own the song(s) if it’s ever contested and the licensing company will help collect your royalties (for a big cut, of course).

Remember, that joker stealing your song will likely end up sending it off  to friends without having them pay for it, but, it will get your name and your music out there and that’s the name of the game today.

All sorts of people would hear you music and one of those people could get your songs into video games, ringtones, movies, you name it.  Licensing and merchandise is where the money is today.  You just never know who’s listening when your music is out there on the web.

Yes, giving music away is unfair and frustrating but that’s life.  Boo Hoo.  Get over it and get on with what you need to do.  Play your music live, get your songs out to the fans, and embrace the new methods of making money with music.  Or, go ahead… live in the past, and see where that will get you.

Did you notice my mention of the company Auditude in the post about Myspace a few days ago?  They index songs sort of like Google indexes web pages.  They grab them off websites, examine them, and then look to see what the song is.  Then, they come up with ads relevant to the song.  And, in the process, they determine certain things about the copyright.

Seems like a good idea to automate a lot of functions to improve the profitabilty and usefullness of websites, doesn’t it?  But, what else can they do with it?  Maybe there are other ways to squeeze some more profits out of this information they are gathering.

Well, they could send the results of what music is on what sites to the record labels… anytime one of a subscribing label’s songs is posted on a site, they could let the label know, and even check it against a database of websites who have paid to post that song.  Anyone not on the list, out goes a cease and desist order.  Along with a civil lawsuit for copyright violations.  What’s the penalty, $20,000?  No, I didn’t look it up, but I think it is something around that number.  Think some money could be made there?

Hey, how about going after the songwriters?  If they are examining the chord progressions and timings, it would be a simple little bit of programming to figure out what else is similar.  There aren’t all that many chords in the world.  And how many songs are influenced by others?  Have you ever created a riff then thought, hey, that sounds a little like ‘Smoke On the Water?’

Guess what?  If My Sweet Lord was sued for being a rip off of He’s So Fine,  don’t ya think there may be a few other hits (or non-hits) ripe for the court?  It may be Hammer time for MC Hammer if Bowie’s lawyers look at Hammer Time that way.  Then again, James Brown may have a few words on the subject also.

The crap may hit the fan big time in the next few years.  Don’t say that the good folk at Music Marketing Center didn’t warn you!  It just may be time to face the music.

According to Bloomberg.com,  the company we love to hate, the company that takes songs we all know and makes them sound alike, the company that pumps music into stores, elevators and dentist’s offices is in debt.

Although this has nothing to do with marketing your music, sometimes things happen in the music world that move me so much, I have to write about them.

I cannot imagine a world without Muzak.  It’s the music you love to hate.  Yet, I have to admit that I’d rather hear muzak than Billy Joel while having my tooth drilled anytime.

I remember hearing a Muzak version of a David Bowie song in Macy’s and came to the sad realization that his cool Thin White Duke days were over.  Then, there was the day I heard the Muzak rendition of ‘Anarchy In The UK.’  Ahhh, good times.

One of the founders of Muzak went to a small liberal arts college in the south and not only donated a pool, but had it wired so that the swimmers and divers could hear Muzak while they were under water. How fab. is that!  And now the whole company may be drowning and sinking in it’s own sad song of debt.

So Muzak, if you’re listening, we here at Music Marketing Center wish you well and that you emerge from bankruptcy protection rocking and rolling once again.  We can’t wait to hear continued Muzak versions of the newest most popular songs. And if I may, I would like to make a request for you to give your special treatment… “My Life Would Suck Without You.”

You can watch the My Chemical Romance video to see how it works. The advertising banner is at the bottom of the screen and it looks like the format that MTV uses at the beginning and end of music videos. The difference being of course is that you have the option to buy.

This is going to end up on just about every song on myspace.  They are using a company called Auditude which has software that examines online music files, figures out what it is (including copyrights), and then, serves up relevant advertising.  Makes me wonder if the RIAA gave that company money.

This is another great music marketing trend for the unsigned musician or band because there’s no need to spend money on driving people to your web site in hopes of making a sale. People search through MySpace and YouTube looking for new music all the time. It would increase music sales if the listening public was able to buy a song on the spot. Why? Because it’s like impulse buying in the supermarket; you may not need it, but if something looks delicious and it’s right there, right in front of you, you will buy it before thinking about if you really need it. And that is a well test successful marketing strategy.

However, it doesn’t matter whether you’re new to the music business or an established act, everyone needs a rider.

When bands are in demand, they ask for specific things outside of the technical arena and if they don’t get it, they have the option of canceling the performance. This is where the stories of rock and roll bands requesting stupid stuff comes from. They can ask for anything, from bouquets of flowers, to a limo, or certain types of food or booze. The classic rock and roll rider indulgence story is Van Halen asking for M&Ms in their dressing room with the brown ones taken out. Did they get it? Yes they did!

The big joke when my friends and I played was to make sure you put a deli platter in your rider and everyone would report back about it. Venues were rated by the quality of their deli platter.

Silly stories aside, it’s important that your attorney looks over your rider and that you included what you need in it. You don’t have to ask for anything ridiculous, but do make sure you have food and something to drink and whatever else you know will make you and your band members happy. You don’t want to rush around a city you don’t know before a gig to find something.

Riders are important because they protect you, the people who work with you and it tells the staff of the venue what is expected of them.