Ariel Publicity

Music on the Couch (Vinny Bond)
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/musiconthecouch

I am thankful for the opportunity to share new music with the world and to have a loving healthy family.

Such Cool Stuff (Holly Deal)
http://www.suchcoolstuff.net

I am thankful to be in a position to help indie artists in my own tiny way.  I am privileged to have the time, opportunity, and resources to do this, and I hope never to take it for granted.

Astral Audio (Allen Sale)
http://www.astralaudio.net
Astral Audio Productions thankful for the listeners and subscribers (old and new), for Cyber PR giving us the chance to introduce emerging artists to a wider audience, and most importantly for those behind the scenes, (friends and family), urging us to bring fresh content

Suffolk’n’Cool Podcast (Peter Clitheroe)
http://www.suffolkandcool.com
I’m thankful for all the amazingly talented musicians who are trusting the new ways of working and to the great people at Ariel Publicity / Cyber PR who look after them, who nurture them and who hook them up with media producers like me to help build their careers. It really is so rewarding to see them making real progress around the world.

Gighive (Noe Pacheco)
http://www.gighive.com
I am thankful for the opportunity to help other indie artists achieve their goals.

WLSO.fm (Uncleshag)
http://www.wlso.fm
This holiday, WLSO.FM gives thanks for the listeners, subscribers and the social networks connecting us with recording artists and promoters. Most thankful to live in an age of wonder and the ability to share music with friends, old and new, world wide.

Cowboy Cantor Podcast (Rodrigo de Sa)
http://cbcantor.blogspot.com/
Cyber PR because music shouldn’t have frontiers. Artists create, Cyber PR distributes, I choose and my listeners love it. So, of course: thank you for the quality you bring to my shows.

Backstage Gourmet Radio Show (PJ Grimes)
http://www.backstagegourmet.com/
I am so thankful for the many creative spirit opportunities—including being a radio show host/producer/writer, educator, and book author—that life has presented me. This includes those in the upbeat and even those in the downbeat. Each has offered a special gift to learn and grow from, as well as to share with others. Remember always, follow your creative heart, no matter what.

Q’s House Radio (Quinton Sheer)
http://qshouse.com
The business may change but as long as there is good music being made by good people who strive to make a difference, I’m thankful.

Gulf Coast Music Review (Bill Dwyer)
http://gcmusic.tmblr.net/
I’m thankful for having a home, when so many are homeless, I’m thankful for the food on my table, when many go hungry, I’m also thankful for the health I do have, because all I have to do is look around and I see others who are a lot worse shape than I am.  And of course, family and friends.

The Mothpod Podcast (Zack Daggy)
http://mothpod.com
I’m thankful for all the bands and artists that follow their dreams. I wouldn’t have found mine without them.

The JogTunes Podcast (Bob Marcus)
http://jogtunes.com/
I’m thankful for many personal blessings but also for the opportunity to enjoy the exhilarating adventure and satisfaction that come with participating in the music podcasting community.

Podcast for Peace (JD Boyle)
http://www.podcastforpeace.com
Thanks for friends that understand and share the vision. Thanks for all the talented people and the way they put in. Thanks for all those that share with us the intention

2 Kens at You Can’t Make It Up
http://2kenscomedy.com/
We are thankful for the people all over the world who unwittingly do things and say things that are just so stupid you really can’t make it up. Where would we be without them?  In short, we’re thankful for the laughter that enriches our lives and the lives of our listeners.

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I’m often amazed when I go to an artist’s website, and I look around, and I’m trying to find basic press information and I can’t.

It seems that in the age of Twitter, Facebook, and Facebook Fan pages, and constantly focusing on your two-way conversations, we’ve forgotten the important basics.

How To Post A Perfect Press Kit On Your Website

This is a revised excerpt from my book, Music Success in Nine Weeks, and it talks about an asset that no matter what we all face with new digital solutions, new platforms and apps that we’re going to be forced to learn, we should always remember: Your press kit. It’s up to you to post your press information clearly and succinctly, so that you’re easy to find and write about.

Posting an accessible press kit to share with journalists and new media makers ( bloggers, podcasters, etc.)  is good common sense.

Editors need access to your information quickly, because they are constantly under deadline.  If you do not make it easy for them to get your information from your site, they may move onto another one of the 50 artists that are playing in their town that same week.

1.  YOUR MUSIC – ALBUM OR LIVE TRACKS

Make sure you have some music available at your website or a very obvious link to your MySpace page where people can hear the music instantly.  Many newspapers are now including online listings where they include MP3s of artists coming to town, so make it easy for them to grab the tracks to add to their own sites – this is additional excellent exposure for you.

2.  YOUR BIOGRAPHY – MUST INCLUDE YOUR PITCH

Make sure you have a short, succinct bio that can be easily located on your site, in addition to the long form one, the blogs and all of the opinions from each band member – which are fun for your fans but not for music writers who will be looking to get quick information. Make sure this bio can be easily cut-and-pasted so writers can drop it into a preview or a column.

CREATE A SHORT VERSION FOR THE CALENDAR EDITOR

Make sure you add your PITCH /USP (Unique Selling Point) as a stand-alone portion to your bio that sums up your sound for calendar editors.  It should be no more than 10 words.

TIP: Post 3 versions of your bios

1. Long Form
2. In 50 Words
3. In 1 sentence (10 words or less)

TIP:  Make sure the bio can be easily cut-and-pasted!

Do NOT have your bio in Flash format; make sure that editors can easily cut and paste it right off of your site.

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This was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make!

Wave 2 contestants of the Blog Challenge have been patiently waiting while I tried to make up my mind.

I have read and re-read the blog posts over and over and I have chosen 1 grand prize winner for 3 Month Cyber PR Campaign and 2 runners up for 6-week Cyber PR Campaigns!

I love the way all three winners embraced community and really leaned on each other in the Mastermind forum and supported each other through the whole contest!

The Grand Prize Winner is…. Kelly Carpenter

The First Prize Winners Are…. Todd Dunnigan & Darryl Gregory

The Second Prize Winner is… Fern Carver Michonski

HONORABLE MENTIONS

(I’m sending you my Musicians Web 2.0 audio Bootcamp (not that you need it – you learned so much!  But I want to give you something as a Thank You!)

Neil Milton
Scott Krokoff
Annie Aronson from HobbyHorse
Stephen Frost
Stephen Carmichael
Atul Rana from DonkeyBox

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http://jaycast.mevio.com

The Jaycast. Take your Ipod on a trip! Escape to a world of comedy banter, toilet humour, and the best in new unsigned Rock Podsafe music. Join Jay and Mr D  in a british podcast that is:  “The world of the JC”.
The Jaycast Podcasting Live from “The Jaycast House Milton Keynes UK” every fortnight!

Q) Tell us a little bit about your site. What inspired you to start it?

A) The Jaycast is a British based Music & Comedy podcast playing the best in new unsigned, indie and Podsafe Rock and Pop music on the net, The JC tis a blend of two guys doing guy stuff, sharing silly stories and jokes mostly geared towards toilets and life. Lets think of it of it as an escape from the real world for around 30 to 40 mins and Jay’s world is pretty weird.
The show is hosted by Jay and Mr Downtrodden Jay’s manic depressed room mate. Jay of course is a constant source of amusement and ridicule for Mr D. Jay revels in his love of SiFi TV shows, mainly Battlestar Galactica, and hopes one day maybe just maybe he will meet a Cylon, preferably the blond one. The show was formed on November 5th 2005 mainly inspired by the Lynn Parsons Chalet Show, Top Gear and of course the Source Code by Adam Curry. Jay has had an interest in radio from an early age and New Media has given him a chance to annoy not only truckers on the CB radio but now the entire internet. So why not check us out for yourself every fortnight your Ipod wont know whats hit it.

Q) Why do you believe new media resources (i.e. blogs, podcasts, internet radio stations) have become so popular?

A) I believe Podcasting, Blogs and Internet radio are so popular these days simply because there is no diversity in “Lame” stream radio. Music tends to be manufactured with singers using auto tune, wheres the talent? We believe the real talent lies in Podsafe music, its diverse and it is real. Podcasting is a great way to promote this and is proven to sell records and real talent enthusiasts want to hear. However I also believe that in order to promote new talent you need to mix it in with the classics. That helps to keep the interest for the new stuff. Its great promoting a new talent but some times you need to throw in something people know. It is such a shame you cant spin Brother Love along side Pink Floyd without a huge law suit. If we could then Podcasting would really take off.

Q) Media 2.0 has changed the way artists communicate with fans. Where do you envision online communication going next? Any thoughts on what Media “3.0” will look like?

A) New Media 2.0 has changed the way artists communicate with fans greatly, It has become very personal and you can get to email an artist directly. Subscribing to artists blogs ensures you know exactly when your favourite band is giging and when the next album is out without the wait. The next step for new media 3.0? Let podcasters also promote the rock legends then sky is no longer the limit. Its just north of Watford.

Q) What does an artist have to do to get your attention? Are their specific characteristics that you look for?

A) To get the attention of the JC you just need to sound great and pack a rockin good tune. We like to start with a fast rock track, steer you round to a tuneful pop number, then add a little more rock and end on a nice ballad or “Ceiling Burner” as we call it, one where we can get the lighters in the air. Oh and nice legs we like nice legs and Mr Downtrodden likes female bass players apparently.

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“The In-Crowd” is an inside look at crowdfunding, with Ariel Publicity Artist Phil Putnam and RocketHub.com co-founder Brian Meece.  Each Monday, the boys are giving us an honest look at a crowdfunding project in action and dish on how things are going each week.
What is crowdfunding?  Find out here.

What does it look like?  See here.
-  -  -  -  -

THE END:  75 days in, 0 days remaining.  Not enough raised, a lot more was needed.

Phil Says:

I’m not going to beguile you with all the typical “it’s the end of the journey but the beginning of a new one, we fought a good fight” crap.  I believe that crap, and don’t think I don’t, but I’m not going to do that here.  Here, I’m just going to tell you the truth.

The truth is that the most shocking realization about this crowdfunding experience is that I couldn’t be completely, open-heartedly honest.  Quite early in the process I began to see the signs that it was not going well, and this made me feel like crap on toast.  Where I would normally go to facebook and type “It’s not going well.  This makes me feel like crap on toast,” the Banker in my brain stopped me and warned “People don’t give money to a leader who expresses less that full confidence in his project.”  And BLAM-O.  That’s the moment this project was over.  I hated what the Banker said, but I knew he was right.  I realized that I had put myself in a situation where I could not be myself, and thus I could not succeed.

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http://www.livemusicmedia.net/fr_lmme.cfm

Live Music Media loves indie music and want to help independent musicians gain exposure on radio and TV. Most commercial Radio Stations and Music TV Networks get their funding through advertisers. They get advertisers depending on the stations’ ratings. They get high ratings through playing top 40 songs and music videos, and thus no independent music gets played. They don’t like that!  Live Music Media just want to hear the music and help feed the scene.

Q) Tell us a little bit about your site. What inspired you to start it?

A) About 5 years ago, I started to develop a small TV Show, locally on Long Island. Featuring only new artists. It launched on Channel 115 in the Cablevision network Jan. 2008. Since inception we have reached over 500,000 viewers. Our show features, artist videos, interviews and promotions. This is commercial free. The only advertising you will see is our artists albums for sale or advertisements to keep it green or earth day.  We are a regional not national show that airs every Sat. Night at 10 PM EST. The TV Show is called HomeGrown Music TV.  We also thanks to Love at New Music Radio, have a radio show that features only the artists on the TV Show. Called HomeGrown Radio. The live radio show features me (DJ Rain) and it airs Tuesday at 11 AM and Friday at 9 PM. We often have live performances and live listening parties.  The radio show is brought to you by New Music Radio. Also our TV Show is aired weekly from our website on Friday Nights at 8:30 PM brought to you by Wildnite Radio.

Q) Why do you believe new media resources (i.e. blogs, podcasts, internet radio stations) have become so popular? How have they been beneficial to artists? How have they been detrimental?

A) Beneficial… yes the world wide web has given artist the opportunity for exposure.

Detrimental… yes, everyone who thinks they can sing or strum a guitar is now an “Artist”. I am old school, sorry to say. I liked the days when musicians had mystery. The album cover was the closest thing you could get to the artist and music was based on talent… not studio tricks.

Q) Media 2.0 has changed the way artists communicate with fans. Where do you envision online communication going next? Any thoughts on what Media “3.0” will look like?

A) From the artist stand point I believe it has helped to open fan bases. Making it more personal. And opportunity to be a part of your favorite bands world. Media, 3.0… I don’t know perhaps by that time we’ll be seeing them in the shower?  Too much communication can hurt things as well.  The last thing you want to do is over saturate too much, because as you can see, people have no attention spans anymore because it is so readily available.  Not sure what it will bring, but not sure it will benefit the music business.

Q) What does an artist have to do to get your attention? Are their specific characteristics that you look for?

A) Vocals and the ability to harmonize. (True testimate to a good singer) unique, something different, (in sound) I don’t care what you look like, I care what you sound like.

Q) What do you ultimately hope to accomplish with your site?

A) A chance to help independent artist, get exposed.

www.livemusicmedia.net (website)

http://www.livemusicmedia.net/WebTV (Web TV Show)

www.livemusicmedia.net/webradio (Radio Show)

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