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This month's newsletter features the listings that were submitted to me in October. The contacts listed are sorted into FIVE sections. 1. Publications that will REVIEW your music |
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2. SITES/PUBLICATIONS WHERE YOU CAN GET YOUR MUSIC REVIEWED Overplay PO Box 11188, Sutton Coldfield, B76 1WX England PH: 0870-112-1382 Paul Brookes service@overplay.co.uk http://www.overplay.com Provides a platform for artists/bands to get reviews and to sell their music. Dogmatik - Your music guide Willy Staeslei 71, 2180 Antwerpen, Belgium PH: ++32(0)476637033 Joeri De Ren joeri.de.ren@telenet.be http://www.dogmatik.be Music guide featuring reviews and a band/artist database. FREE-Magazine Viv editor.free@gmail.com http://www.free-magazine.co.uk Let me know if you have any demos, photos or reviews that you want to send in. Indie and Punk music only. Contact me for submission details. Indieguitarists.com PO Box 730, Stn. C, Toronto, ON M6J 3S1 Monica Yonge info@indieguitarists.com http://www.indieguitarists.com A webzine dedicated to promoting independent guitar & bass players not currently signed with any of the major record companies. The site includes features, reviews, interviews, news, articles, a database and message board. Indie guitar & bass players can submit their website for free to our database. Bands are welcome to use the free message board to post gigs, news, photos and links. Indie's Port Syuli Firmansyah floraluth@yahoo.com http://www.indiesport.com Indonesian resource site featuring Indie reviews, music promotion and distribution.
3. RADIO SHOWS THAT WILL PLAY YOUR MUSIC Tunetrader Podcast PO Box 647, Portsmouth, PO1 2ZT UK PH: 0845-2262162 Nick Hooper enquiries@tunetrader.com http://www.tunetrader.com/about.asp A periodic half-hour podcast featuring the best independent artists from around the world. URSCENE Internet Radio/TV 8452 Ardwick Ardmore Rd. Landover, MD 20785-2306 PH: 301-806-3740 Pharice Brown pmarissabrown@hotmail.com http://www.URSCENE.com Saturday night show featuring the performances of indie artists. We also play indie artists on our Internet/TV show. M3 Radio 259 W. 30th St., 12th Fl. New York, NY 10001 PH: 917-351-1021 Tony-O M3Radio@aol.com http://www.M3Radio.com Besides playing a large amount of unsigned musicians, we also announce tour dates ("Sophia's Topless Tour Dates") as well as doing ticket giveaways. Since we're an Internet station we have a worldwide audience, so no matter where an artist is touring, we can let their fans know. Send us your dates at least 4 weeks in advance to be included. City Sounds Radio Dick Fairchild dfairch@citysounds.biz http://www.citysounds.biz We are very interested in getting independent artist releases for R&B, Smooth Jazz, Southern Soul and Blues for possible airplay. We consider it a privilege to actively support the artists and their music by giving them airplay. We will help to promote you however we can. Radio Muse Jodi Krangle jodi@musesmuse.com http://www.musesmuse.com/radiomuse.html Features independent songwriters. The idea behind the show is to bring together the very best indie music from songwriters at all levels and stages of their musical journey. Please visit our site for submission details! Skydog’s Red Dirt Radio Online 2579 Hwy 252, Laurens, SC 29360 PH: 513-255-8477 Joe (Skydog) Clem skydog@skydogmusic.com http://www.RedDirtRadio.net We're searching for the BEST new Red Dirt music to add to our playlist. Red Dirt Radio Online is a www.Live365.com station and is ranked in the Top 15 Americana stations. We average hundreds of streams daily from all over the world. Submission of a CD to Red Dirt Radio also gets you listed on the Red Dirt Music site http://www.RedDirtMusic.net Kangar Radio International 216 Cook St. #11, Barrie, ON L4M-4H5 PH: 705-812-0101 Andrew Allan kangarradio@hotmail.com http://www.kangarradio.com We have expanded our Indie radio programming even further. We welcome everything from Classic Rock to Indie and some Hip Hop music as well. ChargeRadio.com PO Box 671, Lebanon, OH 45036 PH: 513-255-8477 chargemail@chargeradio.com http://www.chargeradio.com We are a Christian CHR station with a sound that is competitive with a mainstream Top 40 station. Ezzo Radio 3209 Port St. Lucie Blvd. Port St. Lucie, FL 34953 PH: 772-336-8516 John EzzoRadio@aol.com http://www.ezzoradio.com Prerecorded Internet radio shows for indie and/or unsigned artists. Three channels featuring Rock, Country and Singer/Songwriter. Mighty Field of Vision Radio 805 Prospect Dr. Decatur, AL 35601 PH: 256-351-7835 John D. Wyker wyker@mightyfieldofvision.com http://www.mightyfieldofvision.com We are an organazation that is interested in providing a real avenue of radio exposure for indie artists ....so you can tell people where they can hear your music! The Uncle Rudy Show Uncle Rudy Unclerudy@stlbackout.com http://stlblackout.com/therudyshow/realrudy.html I am looking for family friendly kinds of videos. The show runs on public access in St. Louis.
4. SERVICES/VENDORS/LABELS THAT WILL HELP SELL YOUR MUSIC Matchbox Recordings A&R USA A&R Dept., PO Box 644, Chanhassen, MN 55317 Rob Kerr matchboxrecs@msn.com British Indie Label seeking quality CDs from all genres of ROCK music. Get your music on Amazon, itunes, etc. Send your demos to the above address. Bryan Farrish Radio Promotion 1828 Broadway, 2nd Fl, Santa Monica, CA 90404 PH: 310-998-8305 FX: 310-998-8323 Bryan Farrish airplay@radio-media.com http://www.radio-media.com Indie airplay promotion to commercial, commercial specialty, and college radio stations in the U.S. and Canada. Jerome Promotions & Marketing 2535 Winthrope Way, Lawrenceville, GA 30044 PH: 770-982-7055 FX: 770-982-1882 6520 Platt Ave. #729, West Hills, CA 91307-3218 Bill Jerome hitcd@bellsouth.net http://www.jeromepromotions.com We call the music directors and program directors of over 250 stations several times a week in order to help our artists get airplay and the recognition that they deserve with the goal of helping them make a deal with a major label. Looking4airplay.com PO Box 630372, Houston, TX 77263 PH: 281-277-6626 FX: 281-277-6626 Michael Matthews looking4@looking4airplay.com http://www.looking4airplay.com Radio promotion for $350 or less. Urban Radio & Record Pool Marketing (Rap/Hip-Hop/R&B Format). We will digitally deliver your next hit directly to radio today! Chunksofmeat Records CD Store 4640 Demaree Ct. House Springs, MO 63051 PH: 636-262-2296 Lee lees@chunksofmeat.com http://www.chunksofmeatrecords.com Online store selling CDs for independent musicians. Built On Strength Records PO Box 560149, Rockledge, FL 32956 Cameron promotions@builtonstrength.com http://www.builtonstrength.com We are always looking for fresh music to add to our roster of bands. Simply send a CD, along with your contact information to the above address. We listen to everything! Slackertone Records PO Box 5633, Salem, OR 97304 Casper Adams info@slackertone.com http://www.slackertone.com Indie label focusing on Rock, Punk, and Americana artists who aren't afraid to work and play hard. No slackers allowed! Backstage Commerce 700 Freeport Pkwy. #100, Coppell, TX 75019 PH: 972-956-5900 FX: 972-556-2024 Rosie Suayan rsuayan@backstagecommerce.com http://www.backstagecommerce.com We are an online Indie Music retailer. Merchants have the option to self ship or house their inventory with us. The Press House 302 Bedford Ave. #13, Brooklyn, NY 11211 PH: 718-302-1522 FX: 718-302-1522 Dawn Kamerling dawn@thepresshouse.com http://www.thepresshouse.com Full service media relations company specializing in music of all genres. Vision Promotions 22 Upper Grosvenor St., London, W1K 7PE UK PH: +44 (0) 207-499-8024 FX: +44 (0) 207-499-8032 +44 (0) 207 499 8032 +44 (0) 207 499 8032 Alan alanvision@btconnect.com http://www.vision.co.uk A music promotions company offering services for Alternative bands and artists enabling them to tap into the press and radio. Miranda Promotions 733 Ruth St., Prattville AL 36067 PH: 334-361-9060 FX: 334-361-9060 Miranda Leake miranda@mirandapromotions.net http://www.mirandapromotions.net Country and Gospel artist promotion and management. Radio distrubution, and bookings. Smash Publicity 683 S. Main St., Corona, CA 92882 PH: 951-737-3938 Michele Weber smashpublicity@sbcglobal.net http://www.smashpublicity.com A full service public relations firm for bands. We also offer website design services at reasonable prices. Notch Music Group 1570 C. Malcolm Ct. Fairborn, OH 45324 PH: 314-369-4867 Ronnie Notch producer.notch@gmail.com http://www.notchmusicgroup.com We offer high quality production and management to artists that are working hard to establish a recording contract. Black & Blue Star 1410 Wellesley Ave. #106, Los Angeles, CA 90025 PH: 310-924-5651 FX: 253-830-0840 Mindi Sue Meyer mindi@blackandbluestar.com http://www.blackandbluestar.com Independent record label giving talented artists an avenue to have their voices and masterpieces heard. IDEA - Independent Digital Entertainment & Arts 28 Locust St. #303, Brooklyn, NY 11206 Alfredo Cabeza alfredo@ideadistributors.com http://www.ideadistributor.com Music and video distribution to the leading online services such as iTunes, Napster, Rhaspody etc.
5. SITES WHERE YOU CAN UPLOAD YOUR BAND'S MP3s OR VIDEOS Weedfiles.com support@weedfiles.com http://www.weedfiles.com/ib Sell your independent music here. Download music - share music - make money.
6. HELPFUL RESOURCES FOR YOUR BAND Unisong International Songwriting Contest PH: 213-673-4067 6520 Platt Ave. #729, West Hills, CA 91307-3218 Alan Roy Scott info@Unisong.com http://www.unisong.com Since our early days, the Unisong team has worked hard to present a songwriting contest that offers fresh opportunities year after year. But even as we reach for new ideas, expansion, and ongoing innovations, we still pride ourselves on the same personal attention we have always given our entrants. We never want to outgrow the simple heart and soul we started with that makes us who we are, songwriters. Earlybird deadline: December 15th, 2005 / Regular entry deadline: March 15th, 2006. Media Services 11069 I St., Omaha, NE 68137 PH: 888-891-9091 FX: 402-537-4499 sales@mediaomaha.com http://www.newartisthq.com Your One-Stop shop for CD / DVD replication, printing and packaging. Free Distribution with CD Baby and Bathtub Distribution when you get 1000 CDs/DVDs pressed with us. Call us at 1-888-891-9091 and mention the code IB2005 to receive over $100 in promotional items for your band! BandBreak.com PO Box 118, Stormville, NY 12582 Brett Brett@bandbreak.com http://www.bandbreak.com An online promotional service for independent musicians, offering artist profiles, music reviews, promotional services, and much more to our members! Crystal Clear Disc and Tape 10486 Brockwood Rd. Dallas, TX 75238 PH: 800-880-0073 FX: 214-349-3819 6520 Platt Ave. #729, West Hills, CA 91307-3218 Jim jim@crystalclearsound.com http://www.crystalclearcds.com Need CDs? For over 30 years, thousands of artists across the country have trusted Crystal Clear to take their Audio CD duplication, DVD replication and cassette tape manufacturing projects from concept to finished product. We can do it all - from full-color art design and digital mastering and editing to professional "retail-ready" duplication and packaging. 1000 CDs for $999. 1000 Promo CD Pack for $599. 1000 DVDs for $1499! Film Music Express 13101 Washington Blvd. #466, Los Angeles, CA 90066 PH: 800-774-3700 FX: 310-496-0917 6520 Platt Ave. #729, West Hills, CA 91307-3218 express@filmmusic.net http://www.filmmusic.net/sbfmexpress.html Sonicbids and the Film Music Network have partnered to launch the Film Music Express service - a service that enables musicians to submit their music online directly to filmmakers, music supervisors, film and television production companies, music libraries, and industry decision makers who are looking for music for film and television projects. Submissions ongoing. NUESION PH: 800-870-3721 info@nuesion.com http://www.nuesion.com We offer affordable customer web hosting solutions. 24/7 customer support. Streaming video & audio. Online marketing & search engine placement. Mention this listing and get 50% off our regular prices online! New Artist Headquarters 92 Stirling Rd. Watchung, NJ 07069 PH: 215-219-8915 Dave ceo@newartisthq.com http://www.newartisthq.com Music business professionals, and especially fans have the perfect opportunity presented to them to interact with each other and kept up to date. Customized artist and company profiles, a special fan section called the Green Room (yep- go ahead--check it out!), contests, free blogs, a NAHQ Gallery Forum (photos, documents, and more)...all of this at the one stop HOT Exposure spot called NAHQ! Sounds Atlanta PO Box 49266, Atlanta, GA 30359 PH: 404-329-9438 FX: 404-325-8401 Bill Tullis SoundsAtlanta@aol.com http://soundsatlanta.com Studio & remote recording - mastering. 335 Design PO Box 29742, Charlotte, NC 28229 PH: 704-560-2379 contact@335.com http://www.335.com Website design for musicians. According to a recent music publication, about 95% of musicians fail to sell more than 4 or 5 CDs a year through their web sites! There are literally thousands of artists out on the Internet trying to do what you are. Let us help you join the 5% that do much better than a few CDs per year. Put our experience to work for you! Indie-Music.com Classifieds http://www.indie-music.com/classifieds We just opened a new Classifieds section and we're offering no-cost unlimited classifieds for 60 days. You can list your CD release, gigs, equipment for sale, anything at all. Help us fill the store - please post an ad today! Remix my Demo info@remixmydemo.com http://www.remixmydemo.com Do you have a great song, but a bad demo? Let us remix it into a high quality professionally mastered production. Festival Network Online http://festivalnet.com/ib There's nothing like a live performance! FNO lists more than 7,000 events throughout the U.S. and Canada seeking performers, from local & regional to national & international. Search by 22 different music genres, event attendance, zip code radius & more. Plug in festival dates with club dates. Angel Starr PO Box 1661, Buffalo, MO 65622 PH: 417-345-5579 Charity Angel Charity@AngelStarrMusic.com http://www.AngelStarrMusic.com Service provider directory for digital music services.
7. HOW TO ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS ONLINE by David Nevue, author of "How to Promote Your Music Successfully on the Internet" © 2007 All Rights Reserved. Used By Permission To run a successful business on the Internet, credit card acceptance is an absolute must. There's no way around that fact. Unfortunately, accepting credit cards via your web site typically means setting up a merchant vendor account with a bank, setting up terminal software (and/or hardware), and paying the many monthly fees associated with having an account. This makes accepting credit cards a tough call for most musicians. Fortunately, there are options available to musicians that make it possible to accept credit card orders without having to purchase a terminal or pay monthly maintenance fees. This article is an edited (shortened) excerpt from the book, How to Promote Your Music Successfully on the Internet. The Redirect Approach With the first option I'll discuss, you don't need a merchant account at all. You simply redirect your credit card orders from your web site to another company who does the order processing and fulfillment for you. CD Baby is one such company. CD Baby is the largest seller of independent music. It's a great place to sell your music. It will cost you $35 per CD title to set up your account, but once you do, CD Baby will create a beautiful CD sales page for you with everything you need, including audio sampling and streaming. You'll also be able to make use of CD Baby's shopping cart system. Once your CD is setup in CD Baby's catalog, go to www.cdbaby.com/link Now, search for your album. When it comes up, click on the "OK - Go!" button. Here, you'll be presented with several options for linking into CD Baby's shopping cart system from your own web site. Just copy and paste the appropriate code into your web page where you want it to appear and you'll have the ability to accept credit cards indirectly through CD Baby. There are several benefits to using CD Baby as your credit card processor. First, you never have to pay a monthly fee. CD Baby takes a $4 flat fee from each CD sold via their web site. If you sell your CD for $12.95, your profit will be $8.95. Second, you never have to ship or fulfill orders. CD Baby ships orders for you as they come in, and then provides you with the buyer's info. Third, your visitors can use CD Baby's toll-free number to place orders. So if someone isn't comfortable giving their credit card number over the Internet, they can call CD Baby direct to order your CD. Fourth, you get paid, by check, PayPal, or direct deposit as often as once a week for your sales. And finally, your CD is available in one of the largest CD stores on the Internet. I can personally vouch for CD Baby. Their service is exceptional, and payments are always on time. CD Baby is one or the best, easiest ways to get started accepting credit card orders via the Internet without incurring automatic monthly fees. When Sales Exceed $100/Month Having said all that, there are a couple disadvantages to redirecting your credit card sales to another web site. First, your visitor has to leave your web site to place their order. That's not necessarily a bad thing in this case since your customer is leaving your site to buy your CD. Still, it gives me pause. Second, at $4 per CD sale, you're paying 25-30% to have CD Baby handle your shipping and processing for you. Now please understand, that's an exceptional value, especially when you consider the extra exposure you can get to visitors browsing the CD Baby store. But if you don't mind shipping your orders yourself, there are other, less expensive options to consider when your order volume increases. Once you are doing $100 a month total in product sales, you might consider moving your credit card order system to CCNow.com. Like CD Baby, you use the HTML that CCNow provides to link your web site directly into their shopping cart system. One of the primary differences is that from the customer's perspective, they're never leave your web site. In fact, at the end of the order process, they are returned there. When a customer places an order for your product via CCNow, you'll receive an e-mail telling you what item you sold and where to ship it. Twice a month, on the 1st and 15th, CCNow sends you a check for any sales made from your site. CCNow takes only 9% of your sale - a smaller percentage than CD Baby - but they also have a monthly minimum charge of $9.95. So, even if you sell nothing, you still pay $9.95. This is why CD Baby is the preferred solution until you're doing at least $100 per month in sales. Once you're doing at least $100 of business a month on a regular basis, CCNow will cost you less. In terms of dependability and reliability, CCNow is a well-established business who has been on the Internet for years. As with CD Baby, I can vouch their service. When Sales Exceed $500/Month Once you are doing $500 a month in sales, it's time to start thinking about getting a merchant vendor account. Enter Paynet Systems. Paynet doesn't charge anything to apply for a merchant account and their rates and fees are extremely competitive. Just give them a call at 1-800-809-1989 and they'll walk you through the process of getting your application submitted and approved. The exact fees you'll pay each month will depend upon both the number of your online transactions as well as the value of your sales. For example, let's say your average online sale is $25 and that in a typical month you do 50 transactions from your web site. That means your total online sales would be $1250 per month ($25 x 50). Under this scenario, your monthly costs would be as follows: Visa/MC Discount Rate: 2.3% = $28.75 ($1250 x 2.3%) Transaction fees: .25¢ each = $12.50 (.25¢ x 50 transactions) Monthly statement: $10 (All companies I've researched charge this) Monthly gateway fee: $19.99 (Again, this is typical) Gateway transaction fee: .5¢ each = $2.50 (.5¢ x 50 transactions) Add that all up, and your total monthly fee for $1250 in sales is $73.74. That means you're paying less than 6% for all your online processing, compared to 10% for CCNow and 20-25% for CDBaby. The more sales you make each month, the smaller that percentage becomes. So long as you're doing at least $500/month in sales, your own merchant account is by far the least expensive way to go. Important Note: When you sign up for a merchant account, request that Authorize.net be set up as your payment gateway. Virtually every e-commerce system available supports Authorize.net, and I've found them to be very reliable and easy-to-use. Paynet Systems, mentioned above, uses a payment gateway called Skipjack by default. However, they can set you up for Authorize.net if you request it. Your Shopping Cart - One Easy, Inexpensive Solution All a merchant account does is give you the bank connections you need to process credit card orders via the Internet. In addition to this, you'll need a separate shopping cart system to hook into your merchant account. I've researched over 100 different systems, focusing on inexpensive, yet quality solutions. I settled on Mal's E-Commerce. The price for Mal's shopping cart is unbeatable, a mere $6 per month for an attractive, customizable shopping cart that hooks directly into your Internet merchant account payment gateway (the system works very well with Authorize.net mentioned above). Not only that, the technical support is, without a doubt, the best I've ever received from any software vendor. Whenever I have had a question, I e-mailed support and have always received a response from Mal himself, the writer of the program, within just a few hours. You won't find a much better or less expensive shopping cart system than the one Mal's E-Commerce provides. If you find that at some point in the future you need a cart with more features and customizability, take a look at 1AutomationWiz.com. I used Mal's cart for years, but in 2004, found that I needed more power than Mal's cart provided, so I switched. I still *highly recommend* Mal's cart for business start-ups. You cannot beat the price or service. What About PayPal? PayPal is an Internet service that allows registered users to transfer money to and from bank accounts via cyberspace. It's very popular, especially for users of online auctions like eBay.com (who, as it happens, now owns PayPal). What about making use of PayPal as a shopping cart solution? A couple of readers have asked me this very question, so here's my take on it. Like CCNow and CD Baby, PayPal offers a plug-in shopping cart solution for your web site. Once you've added the provided HTML to your web page, customers can click a button to purchase your product. There are no setup or monthly fees, and PayPal's transaction fee, which is only 2.9% + .30¢/transaction, makes PayPal a very affordable and attractive solution. When a customer makes a purchase, the money is automatically deposited into your bank account. You don't have to wait for a check. The main reason PayPal doesn't get my highest endorsement is due to issues of reputation. I have had more than one customer tell me they are actually afraid to use PayPal for data security reasons. They fear their personal information may not be secure. Why is that? One reason is that PayPal users have been the frequent target of hackers called "Phishers" who send e-mails posing as PayPal requesting personal data such as credit card and account numbers. If the customer is fooled into giving up their personal information, their data is then used and abused by the hacker. Now, this issue isn't PayPal's fault, but because PayPal users are more often than not the target of these hackers, PayPal has somewhat of an image problem. Thus, if you use PayPal and PayPal alone for your cart system, your customers may hesitate to order because, whether their reason is legitimate or not, they simply don't trust the system. All that being said, PayPal does offer an excellent shopping cart solution for those without merchant accounts, and the low fees do make it worth some consideration. Just keep in mind the factors above. You may want to experiment with PayPal's solution to see how it works for your own visitors. Most shopping cart systems, such as Mal's E-Commerce and 1AutomationWiz.com mentioned above, offer integrated support for PayPal. That means your customer can opt to pay via PayPal from within the shopping cart system, if they so choose. This is an excellent way to go, as your customer can choose to pay via credit card or PayPal, whichever they prefer. About 15% of my customers choose to pay for their merchandise via PayPal. David Nevue is the founder of The Music Biz Academy, an online resource for musicians at http://www.musicbizacademy.com. He is also a professional pianist, recording artist, full-time musician, and author of the book, "How to Promote Your Music Successfully on the Internet" which you can read about at www.promoteyourmusic.com
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