Not sure which forum this goes into, it's Music, allright, but there's more people in the Lounge and someone might know something about promoting albums, I am drawing a blank here.
Just put a small collection of tunes up on Bandcamp:
Kaffi 101 | KaffiMann
And then I got a little bit more broke signing up on cdbaby so the stuff gets everywhere (eventually), just waiting for the pencil pushers to get around to it.
If I at least break even, I will consider putting up some more albums/tunes. Not counting on it though.
Does anyone have the ability/skill of getting people excited enough to buy music? I have lot's of other stuff going on with small kids, meetings of various kinds, emails, working overtime etc etc. The list is quite long really.
Is there some reasonably priced ad thing I can do?
And is it enough to pay diyaudio some sum so it might be ok to have a link in my sig? How does this work people? I am clueless!
Just put a small collection of tunes up on Bandcamp:
Kaffi 101 | KaffiMann
And then I got a little bit more broke signing up on cdbaby so the stuff gets everywhere (eventually), just waiting for the pencil pushers to get around to it.
If I at least break even, I will consider putting up some more albums/tunes. Not counting on it though.
Does anyone have the ability/skill of getting people excited enough to buy music? I have lot's of other stuff going on with small kids, meetings of various kinds, emails, working overtime etc etc. The list is quite long really.
Is there some reasonably priced ad thing I can do?
And is it enough to pay diyaudio some sum so it might be ok to have a link in my sig? How does this work people? I am clueless!
Very short answer: enjoy your music, absolutely forget about making a singfle penny out of it.
You may sink as much money as you want in *promotion* .
1 Million U$D? 5 Million? the sky is the limit.
Now .... selling it? .... people do not actually BUY Music anymore, since they can stream (and keep) all they want for free.
In the old days, big names went on Tour to sell records afterwards ... today they issue records so they can make money on tickets, merchandise, advertising, etc. on a backing/follow up Tour.
Won´t comment on the Artistic side of it because that´s not the point.
You may sink as much money as you want in *promotion* .
1 Million U$D? 5 Million? the sky is the limit.
Now .... selling it? .... people do not actually BUY Music anymore, since they can stream (and keep) all they want for free.
In the old days, big names went on Tour to sell records afterwards ... today they issue records so they can make money on tickets, merchandise, advertising, etc. on a backing/follow up Tour.
Won´t comment on the Artistic side of it because that´s not the point.
Thanks.
The point is not sinking money I don't have into it, been doing *that* for years.
Just need some small way of "spreading the word" sort of. A small link somewhere would at least be more than nothing.
And using the PRO plan of cdbaby, I can receive royalties if it ever amounts to anything. Not expecting to make any money at all, just covering my "backside", on the unlikely event someone might pick up an interest.
Edit:
I forgot to mention, on Bandcamp I get to have 24bit/96khz files, the album is also cheaper, at 7$ minimum, but it's "pay more if you want to support etc.".
On cdbaby and affiliates it's listed for 9$, and they limit the bandwidth to 16bit/44.1khz, but it gets out everywhere.
Certainly not going to get rich, as a lot of fees come out of this, but probably better than nothing.
The point is not sinking money I don't have into it, been doing *that* for years.
Just need some small way of "spreading the word" sort of. A small link somewhere would at least be more than nothing.
And using the PRO plan of cdbaby, I can receive royalties if it ever amounts to anything. Not expecting to make any money at all, just covering my "backside", on the unlikely event someone might pick up an interest.
Edit:
I forgot to mention, on Bandcamp I get to have 24bit/96khz files, the album is also cheaper, at 7$ minimum, but it's "pay more if you want to support etc.".
On cdbaby and affiliates it's listed for 9$, and they limit the bandwidth to 16bit/44.1khz, but it gets out everywhere.
Certainly not going to get rich, as a lot of fees come out of this, but probably better than nothing.
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Yeah, except one person's junk is another's great music. The only absolutes in are are the cartels, not quality.
A suggestion from a musician friend here, Kaffimann - create lots of social media accounts, and go and sing the praises of the music there, see if you can whip up some interest....
A suggestion from a musician friend here, Kaffimann - create lots of social media accounts, and go and sing the praises of the music there, see if you can whip up some interest....
My recommendation would be to perform live.
Find an artist that's similar-ish that your music would complement, and ask for a support slot at their next gig.
It'd be worth talking to the mods here about, but I think a DIY Music section might be fun. That said, there'd be a risk of the forum becoming full of wanna-be stars spamming their music, so perhaps not...
Chris
Find an artist that's similar-ish that your music would complement, and ask for a support slot at their next gig.
It'd be worth talking to the mods here about, but I think a DIY Music section might be fun. That said, there'd be a risk of the forum becoming full of wanna-be stars spamming their music, so perhaps not...
Chris
Yeah.
Some other users here have links to shops etc. in their sig. I do not see a big difference linking to a couple of albums. Maybe I should just pay Diyaudio a little bit and not feel guilty for doing some shameless self promoting in a semi-discreet way.
Performing live is going to be really hard, and consume a vast amount of time I do not have in preparation alone. I am a member of several different boards with meetings etc. 4 meetings last week alone, add in trying to spend some time with my kids and running+driving around to various activities with them like football, gymnastics, code club and lots of b-days and whatnot. It's all good, but very hectic.
I am hesitant towards asking mods for a music production sub forum, not sure it would be a good thing. It might be good, but you never know about these things.
Edit:
Used to have a good friend from Inverness, Scotland that really had a thing for underground music, he got a few of my tunes played on sets etc. He's gone now though, since 2014. RIP mate.
Edi
And whether my music is junk or not I do not know. But there's a short text that goes with every track, click on "info" next to each tune.
Some other users here have links to shops etc. in their sig. I do not see a big difference linking to a couple of albums. Maybe I should just pay Diyaudio a little bit and not feel guilty for doing some shameless self promoting in a semi-discreet way.
Performing live is going to be really hard, and consume a vast amount of time I do not have in preparation alone. I am a member of several different boards with meetings etc. 4 meetings last week alone, add in trying to spend some time with my kids and running+driving around to various activities with them like football, gymnastics, code club and lots of b-days and whatnot. It's all good, but very hectic.
I am hesitant towards asking mods for a music production sub forum, not sure it would be a good thing. It might be good, but you never know about these things.
Edit:
Used to have a good friend from Inverness, Scotland that really had a thing for underground music, he got a few of my tunes played on sets etc. He's gone now though, since 2014. RIP mate.
Edi
And whether my music is junk or not I do not know. But there's a short text that goes with every track, click on "info" next to each tune.
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You seem to place much faith on a signature link ... 
Me? not so sure it works at all
Here I see 20/30 links (or more) daily, just browsing threads ... never ever click on one ... except on nigelwrite´s "Murton Pyke Systems" because I am interested in his PCB CAD software, go figure.
I suggest you do some homework, running a little Market Research and self promotion experiment: try promoting yourself in your own City (Grua), where I bet "everybody knows you", and neay cities.
Is there some similar Music focused Club nearby?
Make friends with DJs and have your Music on their speakers.
A local FM Radio?
There must be some Music focused programs, or at least "general interest" ones: get an interview on "the local Musician/Celebrity who is creating exciting , hot stuff just near/among us".
Try to create some local pride: "Our Kaffi is way better than those Oslo losers"
Offer some of your Music for free to some Charity/Social/Public Interest cause, such as, say, an Ad (filmed by another friend) about "do not SMS while driving" ... with your music in the background, your name in the credits, and airing by local School/Government/Church/etc. on *their* airspace.
Any youtubers you know post regularly? ... offer them background Music ...
These are some basic ideas, add your own.
You can get interesting promotion for free ... although all of them spend your time instead.
Me? not so sure it works at all
Here I see 20/30 links (or more) daily, just browsing threads ... never ever click on one ... except on nigelwrite´s "Murton Pyke Systems" because I am interested in his PCB CAD software, go figure.
I suggest you do some homework, running a little Market Research and self promotion experiment: try promoting yourself in your own City (Grua), where I bet "everybody knows you", and neay cities.
Is there some similar Music focused Club nearby?
Make friends with DJs and have your Music on their speakers.
A local FM Radio?
There must be some Music focused programs, or at least "general interest" ones: get an interview on "the local Musician/Celebrity who is creating exciting , hot stuff just near/among us".
Try to create some local pride: "Our Kaffi is way better than those Oslo losers"
Offer some of your Music for free to some Charity/Social/Public Interest cause, such as, say, an Ad (filmed by another friend) about "do not SMS while driving" ... with your music in the background, your name in the credits, and airing by local School/Government/Church/etc. on *their* airspace.
Any youtubers you know post regularly? ... offer them background Music ...
These are some basic ideas, add your own.
You can get interesting promotion for free ... although all of them spend your time instead.
Hah!
Grua is more of a tiny village, there's a gym, two grocery stores, one small new cars dealer, one tiny used cars dealer, and that's it. In terms of entertainment/sports there's a single football field (soccer for those from the US), a Ski Jump slope, a very tiny downhill ski slope, and many tens of kilometres of forest with incredibly long cross country ski tracks in the winter, hundreds of kilometres.
As for the nightlife, there is none.
And in Oslo, which is not that far away, the interest for electronic music is very low to begin with. There is a club called Blå (Blue), mostly for poets and Jazz, but they have varied performances of many kinds, ranging from slow stuff to black metal and techno, ever heard of Jaga Jazzist? they sort of started out from there.
Used to be some clubs around that could play a little bit of Breakbeat and a couple of relatively mainstream Drum'n'Bass tunes, but they're gone.
The world has changed, it seems the general fields of interest are watching football, drinking beer and TALKING, what's the point of talking when you're drunk? Better to jump around and be a happy fool. Personally, I blame cellphones and the "social media" for this phenomenon, used to be a time when you could just visit people, now you have to call two weeks ahead and schedule an appointment. No wonder everyone want's to ******* talk when they're drunk. And if there's music present? It's usually just some generic pop thing that makes no sense at all if you try to listen to the lyrics, and that's just as well, people turn it down but still have to shout in each others ears because the people at the next table are so loud...
I like going to the Big-Band Festival in Lillestrøm (Romerrike Storbandfestival), and there's the odd concert that can be interesting. But the interest in Electronic music here is nearly non-existent.
Reading my post now, my view may come across as a bit harsh. But it is the way I see it.
My music does not fit into most people's personal preferences. The market segment in Norway is simply not there. It has happened a few times I have been very surprised someone here actually listen to my music, but it is very rare.
Edit:
I will try to keep my eyes open for some of the things you mention though, but being a realist, I just have a hard time being positive when it is sooooooooo unrealistic any opportunities will open.
Edit2:
There is one thing I could do actually.
If there's anyone here that want to try out my music they can have it for free, I do seem to have a limited number of codes I can generate and give away.
PM me, and I will see about getting some codes made.
If you like it, please just spread the word, that's all I'm asking.
Grua is more of a tiny village, there's a gym, two grocery stores, one small new cars dealer, one tiny used cars dealer, and that's it. In terms of entertainment/sports there's a single football field (soccer for those from the US), a Ski Jump slope, a very tiny downhill ski slope, and many tens of kilometres of forest with incredibly long cross country ski tracks in the winter, hundreds of kilometres.
As for the nightlife, there is none.
And in Oslo, which is not that far away, the interest for electronic music is very low to begin with. There is a club called Blå (Blue), mostly for poets and Jazz, but they have varied performances of many kinds, ranging from slow stuff to black metal and techno, ever heard of Jaga Jazzist? they sort of started out from there.
Used to be some clubs around that could play a little bit of Breakbeat and a couple of relatively mainstream Drum'n'Bass tunes, but they're gone.
The world has changed, it seems the general fields of interest are watching football, drinking beer and TALKING, what's the point of talking when you're drunk? Better to jump around and be a happy fool. Personally, I blame cellphones and the "social media" for this phenomenon, used to be a time when you could just visit people, now you have to call two weeks ahead and schedule an appointment. No wonder everyone want's to ******* talk when they're drunk. And if there's music present? It's usually just some generic pop thing that makes no sense at all if you try to listen to the lyrics, and that's just as well, people turn it down but still have to shout in each others ears because the people at the next table are so loud...
I like going to the Big-Band Festival in Lillestrøm (Romerrike Storbandfestival), and there's the odd concert that can be interesting. But the interest in Electronic music here is nearly non-existent.
Reading my post now, my view may come across as a bit harsh. But it is the way I see it.
My music does not fit into most people's personal preferences. The market segment in Norway is simply not there. It has happened a few times I have been very surprised someone here actually listen to my music, but it is very rare.
Edit:
I will try to keep my eyes open for some of the things you mention though, but being a realist, I just have a hard time being positive when it is sooooooooo unrealistic any opportunities will open.
Edit2:
There is one thing I could do actually.
If there's anyone here that want to try out my music they can have it for free, I do seem to have a limited number of codes I can generate and give away.
PM me, and I will see about getting some codes made.
If you like it, please just spread the word, that's all I'm asking.
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I clicked on this thread expecting a deep philosophical question regarding laziness, not having a job, and bugging others with questions. In which case this forum would be ideal for that question to be answered. In which case I would want to promote "Lurking around".
In other cases, I suppose you could leave a few "free" (5c or 10c per CD) music cd's for sale on the desk at your local $2 thrift store. I'm pretty sure that is the only place where CDs are sold anymore.
Although it depends on what kind of music you are selling and weather or not they would allow it to be sold in the store.
As it turns out I do have some experience in this area. I listened to about the 1st minute of the 1st song. What happened is that your post spread your music to me, and depending on how I like it I might tell other people I know to check out this cool music I just discovered because I think they will like it. Why is that important? Because word of mouth is the best way to spread the word and get people to listen. I am certain I could get a few people to listen if I told them it was worth their time, that I think they will agree and that they will want to spread the word further. Unfortunately, I won't be doing that as I don't think the music is ready yet. No hooks in the first handful of seconds, no hooks at all, really, and disco has been done so much better already. Don't know if you have any interest in talking about learning how to get closer to being more ready for promotion. Most people aren't when they are at the point you appear to be at. They often feel they have done a huge amount just to get to where they are now, that they have a finished project already, and they think it is good enough that a fair number people would like it and want to listen to it if only those people could be found through promotion. Also see you are the point of talking about getting real CDs made from a glass master. More often than not going forward with that too soon results in a closet full of boxes of unused CDs, that can't be sold or hardly given away. There is no shame to cheap burned CDs if the music is good enough. When you can't keep up with buyer demand by burning is probably closer to the time to start spending on bulk CDs. You can always tell people if they buy a burned CD and sign up at your website, if you get enough demand for burned CDs to pay for making them, you will send them one for free. I will stop here for now.
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The first tune is not representative for the rest of the album. It is overly basic and simplistic, not my cup of tea. The first tune is meant as a slow transition to sort if warm up to the sound signature. I really dislike "5 minutt", but it has worked for me in the past to introduce new people to my music.
The feature tune of the album is "Theory 07", but it does require some pre-conditioning of most individuals, every tune is different, "Forever at peace" is slow rolling and melodic, "Endangering my existense" is hard, dark, distorted and intense.
I'd also like to mention "Re-creation" as a slightly dark but funky tune, and "Fish in the lake" is more of a rock theme (with some maxed out pure sine bass to wake you up after the opening guitar feedback fadeout). They are all different.
The intention is that you can put on the first tune, or the second, and let it all play, the current tune is a preparation for the next. It should be an interesting listening experience, just let it play and go do something else, all of a sudden there's a piece you like, something for everyone.
Agree about word of mouth, but it can be a bit hard to get people to actually listen, music is not something people enjoy anymore, they just seem to want background noise to feel less alone.
Anyone here want the album for free? Send me a PM, will get you a code.
The feature tune of the album is "Theory 07", but it does require some pre-conditioning of most individuals, every tune is different, "Forever at peace" is slow rolling and melodic, "Endangering my existense" is hard, dark, distorted and intense.
I'd also like to mention "Re-creation" as a slightly dark but funky tune, and "Fish in the lake" is more of a rock theme (with some maxed out pure sine bass to wake you up after the opening guitar feedback fadeout). They are all different.
The intention is that you can put on the first tune, or the second, and let it all play, the current tune is a preparation for the next. It should be an interesting listening experience, just let it play and go do something else, all of a sudden there's a piece you like, something for everyone.
Agree about word of mouth, but it can be a bit hard to get people to actually listen, music is not something people enjoy anymore, they just seem to want background noise to feel less alone.
Anyone here want the album for free? Send me a PM, will get you a code.
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Good luck! My son is going through the same situation. He's all over SoundCloud and YouTube. He's made a few hundred dollars in the past two years. That's why he still lives at home after graduating from university with a minor in music.
I don't see a problem with a thread featuring new music for starving artists. Being able to feed and clothe yourself as a musician is tough. As I've suggested to my son, maybe going back to school and doing music as a hobby?
I don't see a problem with a thread featuring new music for starving artists. Being able to feed and clothe yourself as a musician is tough. As I've suggested to my son, maybe going back to school and doing music as a hobby?
Because of the point you are at in your career your album should really be considered to be a demo. That's how most people are likely to listen to it since you are new to them and they don't know what to expect from you.
There are some important things you should know. The first is that you should not expect people to listen to your whole album in one sitting. What you are supposed to do and supposed to know you should do is put your songs in the order from best to worst. People want to know how good you can do at your best. The number of songs they end up listening to is a measure of how good they think you are. If someone listens to three songs that is actually very good. Often they will stop before the fist song is done.
Another thing you should know is that most popular musicians can actually compose in more than one style, and they may wish they were free to do so, but having a musical career and lots of satisfied listeners requires working within a genre. People who like that genre may like it. If it is truly superior work, there may even be some cross-over appeal to people who prefer other genres. That's the way it is in the music business. It is something else you are supposed to know when putting together a demo album to introduce yourself.
Mark. Thank you for the time and effort you spend explaining things.
The goal is not to get rich, it's never going to happen. The goal is to break even.
I have statistics over which of my tunes are played the most, and sadly, it is not often the ones where I put in the most effort. People like things simple and straightforward, just background noise they do not have to think about.
The "music business" is dead, it's just unaware of it.
Believe it or not, but this actually is a sort of demo album, but not like you think, trying to fish for interest and see if there could be something in the future. Posting a album with only the very best material on the first go is a certain way to die quietly.
After much reading and investigating, seems to me it's better to post something first, get a tiny little bit of interest, get a feel of the market, and try to build a bigger network before adding more material.
Not aiming for a career. Just trying to spread the word in a small way.
Thank you for caring.
The goal is not to get rich, it's never going to happen. The goal is to break even.
I have statistics over which of my tunes are played the most, and sadly, it is not often the ones where I put in the most effort. People like things simple and straightforward, just background noise they do not have to think about.
The "music business" is dead, it's just unaware of it.
Believe it or not, but this actually is a sort of demo album, but not like you think, trying to fish for interest and see if there could be something in the future. Posting a album with only the very best material on the first go is a certain way to die quietly.
After much reading and investigating, seems to me it's better to post something first, get a tiny little bit of interest, get a feel of the market, and try to build a bigger network before adding more material.
Not aiming for a career. Just trying to spread the word in a small way.
Thank you for caring.
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