We have received all submissions and are waiting on the votes from our Judges. Below are the 15 Finalists who will all receive a digital copy of my book and an invite to the Mastermind Forum.
Stay tuned for the winner of the 3 month Cyber PR Campaign!
@nancynewlis that’s what Queen would sound like in 2009 only with Nina Simone as their lead vocalist.
@KatBlackwell MORISSETTE meets KEYS for a delicious blend of COLDPLAY KORN & CLARKSON a dash of TORI a twist of “TWILIGHT” & a dollop for U2
@mariancall Norah Jones & Jason Mraz never recognized their secret love child, because she was raised by crazy uncles They Might Be Giants.
@SunnaGunnlaugs Bridging the Brooklyn-Reykjavik jazz divide by combining the elegance of the European approach with a fiery New York drive
@MelissaLubofsky Demimonde Slumber Partys sound is a 60s surf musical starring David Bowie Sleater Kinney & B-52s Fred Schneider as the crazy uncle
@madeleinebloom Kate Bush’s cinematic & emotional pop grandeur meets Matthew Herbert’s field recording geekiness in lush layered melodies
@elizabethjazz Sounds like Ella Fitzgerald riding a bike in a ball gown and flip-flops.
@carolinespence lush vocals & interwoven sound evoking art rock sweetness like David Gilmour his fingers entwind in the tendrils of Kate Bush’s hair
@divorceebrock The Divorcees are the hard liquor sandwich of Americana 1 shot Jagger (Cash) 1 shot Tequila (Willie) 1 shot Whiskey (Waylon)
@SamMorrison Sam Morrison Band – 100 Proof Southern Rock, Dripping with Jack Daniels and BBQ Sauce!
@fightingzero We’re cufflinks & chain wallets fine wine & sludge hammers refined melody & dissonant passages We’re Fighting Zero a classy chaos
@ThePeace HipFolk=HipHop +Folk Jay-Z meets Jack Johnson Biggie Smalls meets Bob Dylan KRS ONE meets Kris Kristofferson 2Pac meets Tom Petty.
@aaronzimmer Aaron Zimmer: The sensibility of Pop music w/ the raw energy of Rock. If Layne Staley gave Gavin DeGraw a lesson in Rock & Roll
@madisonviolet If Lucinda Williams was banging Gillian Welch & asked Steve Earle to be the sperm donor their offspring might sound like Madison Violet
@JacquieDrew Jacquie Drew is like Patsy Cline and Norah Jones mashed together, stuffed into a cowboy hat, and served with spicy Shania sauce.
Corey Denis is a woman I admire deeply. She and I have an interesting history. She worked at What Are Records? the label I started out at. But she arrived after I had already left, so we never actually had the pleasure of working together during the time. Corey is nothing short of a genius at marketing bands and artists.
She is brilliant because she thinks about both sides of the fence from the both the artists and the fans perspective.
I’m thrilled that she was willing to be interviewed for this piece. Enjoy her responses.
1. Why is it important that artists participate in social media?
At the very least, learning how to participate in social media will give artists a chance to take advantage of new online tools, which may actually enhance their current projects. Singles, videos and tourdates can be released via new outlets, fans (new and old) will have a new method of communication with artists, and artists will have a new set of tools by which to market their craft. In the face of both an unstable music economy and the evolution of the new music economy
2. Name 10 sites you think all artists should have a presence on?
- myspace
- twitter
- facebook
- youtube
- flickr
- ning (network)
- imeem
- blogger (so you can comment on other blogs)
- vimeo
- qik
3. Do you think it’s important for artists to be on as many sites as possible all over the Internet, or should they be selective and only sign up to the ones that they are actively using?
It can’t hurt to have a profile on as many sites as possible, but if you don’t sign in or know how to use the networks, or understand how to integrate all the sites together, then the profile will not automatically generate any exposure for you other than the top tier of popular artists who sell millions of records per month. An artist could viably create 50 profiles and optimize search-ability online, but it’s crucial to consider what a person will find once they get to the profile. I advise artists to start with 3 networks and to use & manage them correctly and actively, or hire someone who can do it – then increase to 5, 10 and so on.
4. What would your recommendations be for the busy artist that only has 30 minutes a week to dedicate to social media?
Set aside a small budget to hire someone to help, and treat them like an additional band member. If you only have 30 minutes to spare then the concept of “your time is money” should make sense to you – and if you want to sell music online and are not Britney Spears, it’s worth your time & money to bring on this additional band member to increase your visibility, discoverability and sales online.
5. How can an artist save time by using widgets, and which ones would you recommend?
Widgets are time savers if you know how to create and use them. They enable fans to spread information more easily. The only task at hand is to copy-paste-embed on a website or as a blogpost. Think of a widget as a mini web page that can be embedded on a larger web page, or somewhere in a social network. I am a fan of the Sprout widget but since most social networks and services offer widgets i recommend simply finding one that you like best and then putting it up on your website, myspace page and facebook page. Then email your fans with the embed code and invite them to spread the word.
6. What’s the best way for an artist to get blogged about?
There are no guarantees. However, I advise indie publicists and artists who are brave enough to do their own publicity to develop a relationship with bloggers by reading their blogs, learning more about their taste and then you can write to them individually to let them know why you think they might be interested in your music. In addition, start your own blog, build a blogroll, and link to your favorite blogs.
7. Do you think artists should focus on getting played on Internet radio? Or has the scare with the RIAA stopped most Internet radio programmers in their tracks?
Internet radio is very important if you want to be heard online. Terrestrial and online radio stations have to pay for the right to use your copyrighted art on their stations. The focus of the RIAA is not to stop the existence of Internet radio, but to hold “interactive” internet radio as well as large venture funded internet radio stations accountable for higher rates. In other words, the RIAA and Sound Exchange are claiming to fight for the rights of artists and get artists paid for large amounts of airplay.
Unfortunately there are largernternet radio channels with over 20 million listeners who are actually squeezing out the smaller webcasters by claiming that they (the large stations) are also small. There are two (or more) sides to this now-famous issue and their arguments (and lawsuits) are not ending anytime soon. I highly recommend to all artists that they push for airplay online the same way you might have pushed for airplay on terrestrial radio 10 years ago. I support webcasters and strongly advise all artists to treat webcasters like they are KROQ. Know which stations are playing what genres, know the DJs, and send them music appropriately. get airplay! Then promote those stations on your website and fanlists/ emails. Support their cause to stay alive and share the love. (note: in the music industry radio play and promotion is commonly referred to as “love”) 
8. When consulting with a band or an artist, what do you do for them that helps them sell more music online? How do you quantify your results? How can they?
When i consult with bands, labels and artists, I strategize digital presence. Simply creating a facebook or myspace page or a twitter account does not sell music. But learning to use these tools can greatly increase exposure and eventually sell music. In addition there are creative ways to utilize each network to target fans and potential fans. Usually none of this can be quantified financially until at least 3 months after the onset of a campaign. However, there are many numbers revealing exposure such as how many followers, fans or streams an artist accrues over a three-month period. With full engagement, I have yet to see an artist flounder when they know how to utilize the tools.
I teach artists and labels how to use these tools and help them devise creative ways to increase exposure with various tricks inside the tools. Whether it’s using a hash tag or starting a funny group on facebook, these strategies increase visibility and therefore the discoverability of your music online increases. There are ways to flood google so that you are always at the top of your own search results without ever buying an adword. I call this Music Discovery Optimization. Increasing visibility and discoverability of quality music will only increase an artist’s chance at selling music new and old.
9. Can you name five bands who are doing it right online?
Lil’ Wayne, Dr. Steel, Ben Kweller, Birdmonster,
10. Finally, if I was an artist and I had $500 of promotional money to spend, what would you advise me to do?
See #4 – if you have $500 and don’t know what to do with it, hire someone who has command of the new music climate online and can execute quickly to increase your visibility online and teach you how to twitter. If that’s not an option or you just don’t want to bring anyone into the fold, spend it on an email newsletter service if you aren’ t already emailing your fans with news.
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The Official Station of South Carolina Rock & Roll
Q: How long have you been broadcasting?
A: WeAreRadio.com came alive April 1st of this last year. So we’re going to have a combination Birthday and April Fool’s Party every year.
Q: In your opinion, what does a good song need to consist of?
A: The best song, in my opinion, seems like several songs in one. The Beatles and Paul McCartney and Wings were masters of this; Queen with “Bohemian Rhapsody”; Boston with “Long Time”.
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These are standout songs. The multi-part effect tends to take someone on a short little journey every time they get to listen to the song.
Q: What is your favorite band or favorite genre of music and why?
A: Shoot me, but the more you digest the albums of Seal (including his many EP’s, Maxi-cd’s, and import versions) the more you realize the complex genius in the arrangements and the countless layers of sound involved. One top 40 hit like “Kiss From A Rose” can ruin many people’s ability to see the depth to his work. Kind of a Catch 22.
Q: What changes in content laws, broadcasting rights, etc. have effected you most?
A: I decided, right off the bat, that I would register as a professional station and pay my royalties. There are too many people that took advantage of the loopholes in digital music early on and gave our media (internet radio) a skeptical glance from many. I believe, that at the end of the day, we are radio (no pun intended) and we should jump through the same hoops as terrestrial radio when it comes to the rights to broadcast the work of recording artists. I’m sorry, but right is right and wrong is wrong.
Q: A recent study found blogs to be more effective than MySpace in generating album sales, do you feel that that is a true statement?
A: Yes, I feel it is a true statement. MySpace has proven to be a priceless tool for recording artists and their mission to deliver their sound to the world. A bevy of promotional tools are there for the artists and there for free. But MySpace lacks the ability to speak as directly to a music fan like a blog or website so heartily can do.
WeAreRadio.com has used this concept in a 2 prong approach: The site is handed to the viewer in the form of WeAreRadio Magazine with play / launch buttons for WeAreRadio, the internet radio station, available immediately upon entering the site. So, a true multi-media experience begins all based around the music we promote, increasing connection to the music and generating album sales.
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Host of the PC Podcast, featuring eclectic music from around the world: http://pcpodcast.blogsome.com and The Dub Zone, featuring the very best dub reggae: http://thedubzone.blogsome.com and PCP{2}, a deeper look into the musical genres explored in PC Podcast: http://pcp2.blogsome.com
Plus he is the co-host of “Made In The UK”, featuring some of the very best UK music, for the world: http://madeintheukshow.co.uk and AMPed, the weekly digest of the Association of Music Podcasting at: http://musicpodcasting.org
Q: How can a podcaster become a part of Association of Music Podcasting (AMP)?
Firstly, you need to have produced at least 5 episodes of your podcast. We want to make sure you don’t “podfade” after your first couple of episodes. Secondly, all of the music must be http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podsafe podsafe. AMP is about the music that doesn’t get airplay on mainstream radio. Unless artists have specifically made some of their music podsafe, we can’t play it. We also charge a small membership fee, which helps with hosting and other activities.
Most importantly you need to be good at podcasting. Before becoming a member, your podcast will be peer reviewed. We take into consideration the podcaster’s passion about their music, their broadcasting style, the quality of their broadcasting equipment, the quality of the music they play and even the sample rate they create the podcast at. Not everyone makes the grade.
Q: What is the background story on how AMP came about?
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AMP’s history goes back to late 2004, long before I joined. Chris MacDonald, Derrick Oien, Bob Goyetche and Jason Evangelho all had important parts to play in setting up the association long before podcasting became a mainstream term. Back then, Apple was reluctant to accept music podcasts into their iTunes store, because they were worried about licensed music being freely distributed under their umbrella. AMP became the first association to offer Apple a “safe harbour” knowing that AMP member’s podcasts would be podsafe. AMP was also the first association to offer episodic downloadable media, and start creating a library of music. This library later went on to become a profit-making enterprise as the http://podsafemusicnetwork.com Podsafe Music Network.
AMP was, and remains, a non-profit making association, and after a hiatus in mid 2005, George Smyth got things moving again. After revamping the website and building some tools to automate the process of making a collective podcast, the AMPed podcast became a weekly event in the podosphere.
I joined the association in March 2006 and have been a regular contributor since then. Like many new members, initially I just submitted tracks to be played on AMPed, and occasionally became the host. More recently I’ve taken over a few more duties, like webmaster and membership secretary. Now many of the members have regular roles maintaining the podcast feed, making sure we all submit music on time, organizing the host rota and hosting the show. Everyone gets to do as much as they want to do. We’re a good team.
The best thing about the association is that we all have a voice. We’ve had some great suggestions from new members and old members alike and we keep moving forward.
Q: How do you go about choosing which shows to feature on http://amped.musicpodcasting.org/
Each podcaster can submit a track to AMPed each week. If everyone submitted a track the show would be 3 hours long, but we generally get enough submissions to fill a 40-60 minute show. It’s entirely up to the podcaster which tracks they want to play, but as they have only one track to chose, it means AMPed ends up being the best of the best. AMPed is also work and child safe.
The week’s host is the final arbiter of what tracks make the show, and the running order. All the hosts have a different style and like different kinds of music, so it’s as much of a journey of discovery for them as it is for the listeners. I’m sure some of the hosts groan when I’ve submitted a track sung in Russian or Cambodian, but hey, I like that stuff, and I think the listeners deserve to hear it. You don’t hear that on mainstream radio!
Q: How does AMP keep changing?
Every new podcaster brings a new perspective on how to promote their podcast and their favourite music. We have members who really understand Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and we’ve completely revamped out website, http://musicpodcasting.org to pull in all the latest information from our member’s blogs and podcasts, straight to our front page.
We have other members who are really passionate about social networking, be that via Facebook, Myspace or last.fm. We’ve recently started using Twitter to publicize when we have new podcasts available, and we’re looking at using Twiturm to “tweet” podcast “samplers” of the shows out to people on the move.
We also want to hear what our listeners have to say, so we’ve created a survey on the main page of our website http://musicpodcasting.org. They can tell us what they think of the show, what we do right, and what we should be doing better.
Q: What changes in content laws, broadcasting rights, etc. have affected any podcasters being able to air their music?
Back in 2004, there were no clear guidelines, but, as I mentioned, Apple was worried about allowing music podcasts into the iTunes store, especially after the legal ruling in the MyMP3.com case. Because all AMP podcasts were vouched podsafe, this gave Apple the solution they needed and all the AMP member podcasts were approved.
Since then, many content laws and broadcasting rights have been suggested, and these vary from country to country. AMP has always been international and we have podcasters based in the US, Canada, UK, Germany, Portugal, Australia and even Nepal, so it’s not easy to see which rules would apply. There are also more stringent rules for streaming services, than there are for podcast downloads, but as long as we keep within our guidelines of using podsafe music, we can continue producing podcasts.
Today there are a large number of resources that podcasters can use to get podsafe or Creative Commons licensed music, such as IODA Promonet, Magnatune, Jamendo and Music SUBMIT as well as the Podsafe Music Network, and, of course, Ariel Publicity. We also get music from other sources such as Myspace, last.fm and from the artists directly, but we do need to make sure the artist, manager, or label gives us permission first. Ariel Publicity is a great service for us, because we know all the hard work has been done beforehand and we can legally play the music.
Of course, nowadays everyone knows what a podcast is. When AMP first started, artists were quite unsure of our motives or even what a podcast was. It’s great to see some of the big artists like, Tom Waits, Bloc Party, Nick Cave or the Manic Street Preachers leading the way and making some tracks podsafe. This encourages up and coming artists to do the same.
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Q: A recent study found blogs to be more effective than MySpace in generating album sales, do you feel that podcasts will have the same effect as well?
Absolutely! I wear a T-shirt that says “Podcasting Is Selling Music” and another one of our members talks about “Promotion Not Piracy”.
Myspace is great for artists to allow listeners to hear their music, but the listener has to go searching if they want to find something new. If you find a podcast that you like, you can let the podcaster be your guide. We’ve all heard from listeners that they’ve bought an album that they never expected to like because they’ve heard it first on a podcast.
I’ve played bands back in 2006 that none of my friends had heard of, and now they’re playing the main stage of the largest festivals in Europe. OK, that’s not all down to podcasting, but it’s part of the process. Mainstream radio only picks up on bands when they have a major record deal. Podcasters are playing the music months, even years before then.
If you want to hear something you’ve heard before by the Beatles or the Eagles, then feel free to go to Myspace or listen to mainstream radio. If you really want to hear something really new; something recorded this year, recorded yesterday, something that’s not even finished yet – then listen to a podcast!
David Myles
My second journey to the East Coast Music Awards in Canada was fantastic. This year I was honored to again join the group of internationals that were invited by the East Coast Music Association to participate in their annual conference and attend the award show.
Hey! Rosetta
The East Coast Music Awards are sort of like the Grammy’s but for the East Coast of Canada and it takes place in a different city each time. This year it was in Corner Brook Newfoundland. And again, this year I was astounded by the immense amount of talent that comes from the East Coast of Canada. There were many, many highlights – I will let me photos do the rest of my talking. Here is my link: http://www.flickr.com/arielpublicitypr
Cyber PR For Musicians
On Friday I gave a two-hour presentation on Cyber PR for musicians and taught or Canadian counterparts how social media will become a huge part of how they will be building tribes around themselves in 2009 and beyond.
Because Canadians still buy albums and Canadian radio actually supports up and coming talent they have not been as affected by what has happened in the United States to musicians. The most phenomenal thing of all from my perspective is their government and provinces actually support musicians by helping them with mentoring, advice and (gasp) grants. This is extremely unusual from an American perspective.
And it directly contributes to the fact that only 8 people who were at the ECMAs were on Twitter (before I arrived) I am proud to say I personally signed quite a few bands up to Twitter and I did some sleuth work for our Canadian friends who want to start to use this wonderful and powerful tool to connect on the East Coast of Canada
Twitter for ECMA’s Community
To follow this list of people who were at the ECMAs or talking about the ECMAs on Twitter do This:
Step 1: login to your twitter account (or create one) by going to: http://www.twitter.com/
Step 2: While you are logged in switch the usernames to land on each page
and add the username to get to their page for example my username is CyberPR and my Twitter page is http://www.twitter.com/cyberpr
Step 3: Click the grey box that says follow under each photo and username of each page you land on!
Step 4: Tweet Away!
People talking about ECMAs on Twitter / People who were there
http://twitter.com/CyberPR (that’s me!)
http://twitter.com/TerryMcbride
http://twitter.com/Jessiejessie
http://twitter.com/musicnovascotia
http://twitter.com/Aimeenl (volunteer, using the ECMA logo on her page)
http://twitter.com/GCSU
http://twitter.com/davidhueyhayman
http://twitter.com/SignalBlog
http://twitter.com/gautjac
http://twitter.com/Jeffpineau
http://twitter.com/Eirinnfraser
http://twitter.com/HiphossipCanada
http://twitter.com/orcaphyll
http://twitter.com/Mynameismoe
http://twitter.com/commieninja
http://twitter.com/noelmacdonald
http://twitter.com/Authenticcoast
http://twitter.com/Terryrandell
http://twitter.com/Jcohlmeyer
http://twitter.com/poirier
http://twitter.com/newfoundland
http://twitter.com/Leahtims
http://twitter.com/giggs_12
http://twitter.com/Poirier
http://twitter.com/SpinCount
http://twitter.com/JJScheffler
http://twitter.com/dmbnewfie
http://twitter.com/ShannonPratt
http://twitter.com/DannyMillions
http://twitter.com/NutkinNB
http://twitter.com/Jennamacneil
http://twitter.com/Paisleyjura
http://twitter.com/ngill
http://twitter.com/Tomcochrane
http://twitter.com/adamdiamond
Radio Peeps:
CBC:
http://twitter.com/CBCDeepRoots
http://twitter.com/CBCnl
http://twitter.com/OnTheGoCBC
http://twitter.com/CBCpei
http://twitter.com/CBCarts
http://twitter.com/CBCnews
http://twitter.com/CBCcanada
http://twitter.com/RC_Arts (Radio Canada)
http://twitter.com/JayBedford -Announcer & Music Director / 1035 The Eagle (CKCH FM Sydney)
http://twitter.com/Robertcarnell – Host of Salt Water Music and Tech. Producer with CFRC Radio
http://twitter.com/1035TheEagle
Artists:
http://twitter.com/Hotaction
http://twitter.com/SWThieves
http://twitter.com/ENNISmusic
http://twitter.com/Idlers
http://twitter.com/Thedingler
http://twitter.com/alertthemedic
http://twitter.com/Theheartbroken
http://twitter.com/leahtims
http://twitter.com/dean_stairs
http://twitter.com/jeffpineau
http://twitter.com/Rebekahhiggs
http://twitter.com/Catcherband
http://twitter.com/Thesubtitles
http://twitter.com/melaniesamson
http://twitter.com/tw34k (plays with Catcher)
http://twitter.com/kimwempemusic
http://twitter.com/christalk (Chris LeBlanc)
http://twitter.com/IamJoeBuck (Joe Buck)
http://twitter.com/artdamage00 (Matthew Claener)
Toronto
http://twitter.com/Melodyman (Don Quarles)
http://twitter.com/Rodney_Murphy (SOCAN)
http://twitter.com/Nxnefest
http://twitter.com/thirdestate
http://twitter.com/taraoram
http://twitter.com/Tiffanyford
Halifax
http://twitter.com/Jeffpineau
http://twitter.com/H00TIE1
http://twitter.com/Brightwhite
http://twitter.com/SpiderVideo
http://twitter.com/IWKFoundation
http://twitter.com/Thedingler
http://twitter.com/Myogis
http://twitter.com/Greghemmings
http://twitter.com/liam_mather
Corner Brook
http://twitter.com/Seanezekiel
http://twitter.com/hellothisisalex
The Indie Maximum Exposure List is Ariel Hyatt’s manifesto on how indie musicians can realistically profit from Web 2.0 & social media. 
