datamusicata

Several people have asked me about how to promote their CD’s. I have had varying degrees of success on commercial radio, but let me start out by stressing that whatever you do, one thing won’t do it. There really must be a effort in concert, a new release, radio play, press, touring, and any other kind of exposure that you can think of, an internet presence, including website and internet play, videos on you tube, reviews from every source you can manage, distribution so that people can buy the CD, on the net and in the stores that are left, and advertisting. It that all happens at once, you have a slight chance and absolutely no guarantee that any of it will work. This is broken down in the datamusicata article “what is the most cost effective self promotion”, so let’s talk about other aspects of this self promotion dilemma.

Now I have never had the benefit of a concerted effort and don’t know how to manage that without an enormous budget for all that stuff and someone to coordinate it, so I have given my self over to the idea that everything I do raises my profile a little.

First of all, I make the recording that I want to make, given what my artistic goals are and couple that with an effort to make these artistic goals accessible. I try to make something that you haven’t heard before with lyrics that haven’t been said before. Now the more different you make something, the less accessible it is. But I have to follow my muse, otherwise I would just be a hack, making music for no other reason that fame or fortune. I am sure I would enjoy that were it to show up but it’s not my primary reason for doing this. I simply want to do it, thrill to do it, love to do it, and find it more fascinating the more I do it. Now back to how we make someone aware of it.

I always service radio with my CD, and if a station has been resistant to you in the past, it doesn’t mean that they will be to the next recording, tho, to be accurate, I have run into specific program directors who simply did not like what I did and no matter what kind of success I have had in all the other markets, they would still not play my music.

Not much you can do about that, tho I will tell you that people that hold that kind of attitude don’t usually stay program directors for a long time. It’s one thing to have a vision of your radio show’s sound but another thing entirely to dismiss something without evening giving it a chance.

Be that as it may, I service all the radio stations that might play my music and I welcome any and all internet airplay as well. I also have songs on myspace/jamesleestanley and I recommend that you do that. I have been so much on the road this year that I haven’t done what I had planned to do, which is to change the music at least twice a month.

I am going to try something new when I get home from the road next month. I will change the music once a week during what I have left of November. I am even thinking of changing it every day and making the songs available for download, but for one day only. That way, the folks that really care about what I do will have the opportunity to have something special from me that no one else has. And it might create something of a buzz on myspace. Who knows? I’ll keep you all in the loop on that.

For the month of December, I’m going to have my Christmas songs up there; four of them and I’ll make one downloadable each week, all the while encouraging folks to pick up the entire Christmas CD. Which brings to mind something else that you can do on your website.

Have a special times when you give them a real deal; like a Christmas sale. Two for $25 or no shipping and handling or buy two get one free. The object here is not to make a bunch of money, but to get as much of your music out there as you can. The more people that hear you, the more chance there is of your audience growing.

And if you are out on the road with a night off, then go to a club and jam if you can, go to the open mics. You simply have to play everywhere that you can so that you can be in front of as many people as you can. The large commercial venues and avenues are bought up. They want the acts that will fill the seats, and bring in the listeners so that they can sell ads.

So you need to do the grass roots stuff. Don’t forget your mailing list and don’t forget interact with people at the shows. And make certain that everyone there knows that you are having a good time. You do this by the simplest way imaginable. You have a good time. Listen to what you are playing, listen to the audience reaction and listen to your heart. It always knows what you are doing.