The secret isn’t only knowing which record labels are looking for new artists. Anybody can find that information through various online sources — some more reliable than others. Google, “Companies looking for new music,” and see what you find. The real secret to getting your music heard by major and independent record labels is to know what they’re looking for in new artists. “For” is small word, to be sure. Just three letters! But it’s a very important word for you in the context of getting a record deal. Record Companies Are Businesses! Like all other companies, both major and...

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Learning how to sell your music and create music marketing plans and strategies is not nearly as daunting as it might seem to many musicians. In this article, I’ll not only give you a simple music marketing plan and strategy, I’m also going to give you some free marketing tips and ideas you can start using today! Marketing music—as it’s done by record labels—is typically too expensive for Independent artists. While major labels will often try regional marketing, and if it works, deploy the same techniques nationally, Indie artists don’t have the budgets to go national, and often rely on...

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I just finished doing a video interview with some nice gents from Australia. One of the topics they asked me about was Music Marketing for Indie Musicians. I realized while I was answering the questions that so many of the music marketing techniques I was recommending are common sense things we often overlook unless reminded. Your instinct - or should I say reflex  - is often to market music in a way that feels like it would appeal to you. But you aren't the potential buyer, and may not be objective when judging the effectiveness. So the first step is...

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Promoting Your Music Online Michael Laskow's Music Promotion Panel Notes from 1/16/10 I was asked to join Bob Baker, Ariel Hyatt, Brian Mazzaferi and Tony VanVeen, the CEO of Discmakers and CDBaby, for a panel at this year's NAMM show. All but Brian are good friends of mine, so it was an honor and a pleasure to join them. Brian turned out to be a great guy, and I'm sure our paths will cross again soon. As I began to clean up my computer's desktop moments ago, I found the panel questions and my notes/answers and thought you might benefit...

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Major Labels, Indie Labels, Pop Labels, Rap Labels, Christian Labels, and Country Labels are actively looking for new artists every day. It's easy to think that songwriters and artists can make it on their own with all the great self-promotional tools and opportunities on the Internet. But looking at this week's  Billboard Top 100 Chart, I can't find a single band or artist that has become successful on their own using the Internet as their only form of promotion. Yes, the Internet is a large piece of the music promotion puzzle, but it's a piece, not a panacea. Companies that...

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