This month's newsletter features the listings that were submitted to me in August.
The contacts listed are sorted into FIVE sections.
- 1. Publications that will REVIEW Your Music
- 2. Radio Stations/Shows that will PLAY your Songs
- 3. Services/Labels that will Help you to SELL your CD
- 4. Sites Where you can UPLOAD your Band's MP3s or Videos
- 5. Helpful Resources and Promotional Sites for Recording Artists
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2. SITES/PUBLICATIONS WHERE YOU CAN GET YOUR MUSIC REVIEWED
KillYourFM Magazine
PH: 805-709-1551
Jason Evangelho info@killyourfm.com
http://download.killyourfm.com
A high quality, monthly multimedia zine designed for the Playstation Portable and PDF formats. Authored by music junkies, for music junkies. Each issue is jam packed with interviews, music technology articles, spin tests, and legal, permission based MP3's.
musicNerve.com
Peter Mezensky misspeter@gmail.com
http://www.musicnerve.com
An online music community. We are expanding our reviews section and would love to have you send in your music.
Ambient Visions
PO Box 539, Lucas, OH 44843
Michael Foster editor@ambientvisions.com
http://www.ambientvisions.com
Reviews and interviews of Ambient, New Age, Electronica and Techno music. On the web since 1999.
Blistering.com
C.P. St Dorothee, PO Box 69023, Laval, QC H7X 3M2
PH/FX: 450-689-7106
Rob Cotter rob@blistering.com
http://www.blistering.com
Metal music community. Submit your CDs and demos. Bands can sell their CDs at our store. We also feature downloads.
Loud Orange Reviews
621 S. Lincoln, Springfield, IL 62704
Paul info@loudorange.com
http://www.loudorange.com
CD reviews, indie music reviews and new music. Always accepting new music and books for review.
ehiphop
Maximus ehiphop@msn.com
http://www.ehiphop.org
Resource for Hip Hop artists. Culture, music, news and reviews online.
Stand Up Jack zine
13545 S. Horrell Rd. Fenton, MI 48430
John McKay StandUpJackzine@aol.com
http://www.StandUpJack.net
Covers all forms of Rock music, mainly Punk. We will make an attempt to review most submissions, as well as do interviews/features.
3. RADIO SHOWS THAT WILL PLAY YOUR MUSIC
KRCK-FM 97.7
73-733 Fred Waring Dr. #201, Palm Desert, CA 92260
PH: 760-341-0123 FX: 760-341-7455
The Big KC kc@krck.com
http://www.krck.com
KRCK supports local talent and encourages independent artists. Rock & Alternative format.
Association of Music Podcasting
PO Box 463, Williamsville, IL 62693
PH: 217-899-3512 FX: 217-899-3512
Matt Galligan matt.galligan@musicpodcasting.org
http://www.musicpodcasting.org
AMP is home to the best in music podcasting and is the end-all resource for the best independent music.
Music For Jerks Podcast
3491 Holiday Rd. #102, Traverse City, MI 49686
PH: 231-645-0270
Joshua Olson monkeypup@monkeypup.org
http://www.musicforjerks.com
A rock-your-socks-off Indie Rock podcast. You want the goods? I got the goods.
musicNerve.com Podcast
Peter Mezensky misspeter@gmail.com
http://www.musicnerve.com
We are actively looking for non RIAA bands to play on our show.
BURBsRadio (British Underground Rock Bands)
Barry burbs@burbs.co.uk
http://www.burbs.org.uk/radio
REAL music, by REAL bands REALLY out there in the UK right now, gigging their locals.
Rock Solid Pressure
4254 Whistlewood Circle, Lakeland, FL 33811
Patty Yagtu RockSolidPressure@yahoo.com
http://RockSolidPressure.com
The hit unsigned radio gameshow is now accepting submissions for their 4th blockbuster season! Major sponsors, plus major and indie label affiliates. An honest way to be heard by the masses! Send cd/bio to the above address.
Kangar Radio International
216 Cook St. #11, Barrie, ON L4M-4H5
PH: 705-812-0101
Andrew Allan Kangarradiosimcoe@rogers.com
http://www.kangarradio.com
We have just created a time slot for Indie music. The "Indie show" will run weekly on Saturday from 1pm to 4pm in North America. It will air on our European and African servers on Mondays at the same time.
Digital Detroit Radio Podcast
Matt digitaldetroitradio@gmail.com
http://www.digitaldetroitradio.com
Our mission is to promote independent bands that aren't associated with the RIAA. I love spreading the word about indie bands that people might not have heard of yet.
Moozikoo Radio
PO Box 50322, Nashville, TN 37205-0322
Anthony Bates anthony@moozikoo.com
http://www.live365.com/stations/moozikoo
Our goal is to bring you the best music from today's independent artists. We focus on music in the Americana, Alt. Rock, Bluegrass, Blues, and Alt. Country genres.
ATIR Radio
Ray raysburn@netscape.net
http://www.clubendie.com/atir1.htm
We air tradtional Country, Blues, Bluegrass, Folk and Southern Gospel only. Keeping it indie!
IndependentCast
James james@independentcast.com
http://www.IndependentCast.com
Podcasting is revolutionizing music and Indie music artists need
a way into this exciting new medium! That's where IndependentCast
comes in. IndependentCast is a weekly half-hour show featuring
music from Indie bands all around the world. Each week
IndependentCast features 5 or so Indie bands and their music,
then listeners can vote for their favorite song online during the
week!
The UnSung Radio Show
7575 W. Washington Ave. Ste. 127-171, Las Vegas, NV 89128
PH: 702-644-4688
Warrick Roundtree untamedtongues@yahoo.com
http://www.untamedtongues.com
This is where Spoken Word meets real music, not your commercial radio hits. The Untamed Tongues are always in search of poets and lyricists to feature on the now world famous Untamed Tongues Poetry Lounge Platform. Send 4 professional quality audio CD's, along with press kits to the above address.
4. SERVICES/VENDORS/LABELS THAT WILL HELP SELL YOUR MUSIC
Music Biz Tips
28870 US 19 N., 3rd Fl. Clearwater, FL 33761
PH: 727-799-2488 FX: 727-799-2489
Smirna info@musicbiztips.com
http://www.MusicBizTips.com
Want a Record Deal, Radio Play or Gigs? We connect unsigned artists by PHONE to MAJOR A&Rs, Agents, Programmers for deals!
Vocal Graffiti Records
PO Box 746, Red Bank, NJ 07701
PH: 908-693-4247 FX: 310-229-5313
DJ New York City Ken djnycken@vocalgraffiti.com
http://www.vocalgraffiti.com
Formed in 2004 by 2 industry professionals who realized the need for a true representation of independent Hip Hop culture on the net.
In Wine is Truth Records
Please check website or e-mail for contact info
Max in_wine_is_truth@rock.com
http://www.inwineistruth.us
A new label devoted to putting out some of the most ace Rock and Roll and Psychedelic records around.
Planet CD
PO Box 19481, Charlotte, NC 28219
PH: 704-560-2379
Ralph contact@planetcd.com
http://www.PlanetCD.com
We provide 2 custom designed pages for your listing - an "Info / Bio" page to tell about your music, the artist, or whatever message you want to get across - and a "CD page" which features a scan of your CD cover, a list of tracks and audio samples.
Ch8slittle ent.
252 Rosemar St., Philadelphia, PA 19120-1415
PH: 267-286-0018 FX: 215-226-5210
Wayne Hudson osob_18@hotmail.com
http://www.ch8slittle.com
We are a managment group promoting R&B, Hip Hop and Alternative acts in Philadelphia.
MUSIK INTERNATIONAL Distribution and Promotion
154 Betasso Rd. Boulder, CO 80302
Toll Free: 888-476-8745 PH: 303-444-9575 FX: 303-444-9122
PJ info@musikinternational.com
http://www.musikinternational.com
Promotion, Marketing and Consulting to the worldwide entertainment community. ***We are offering you a FREE 15-minute consultation! I am best reached between 10 am and 4 pm (Mountain time) Tuesday-Friday. Genres of Music covered: Rock, World, Jazz, Latin, Hip Hop, R&B, Folk, Blues, Singer-Songwriter, Acoustic, Electronic, Ambient, New Age, Contemporary Classical/Crossover. NO Country, Gospel or Christian, please.
Western Heart Promotions
4557 W. Bloomfield Rd. Glendale, AZ 85304
PH: 602-896-9910 FX: 602-896-9919
Gary Bradshaw gbradshaw3@cox.net
http://www.gbww.com
Promotions Company primarily promoting Country Music to foreign countries.
Partridge Records and Music
Jeffrey Thibeault jthibeault@partridgemusic.com
http://www.partridgerecords.com
An independent record label and music publisher based in Portland, Maine. Established to support independent artists and song writers in the local New England Market.
5. SITES WHERE YOU CAN UPLOAD YOUR BAND'S MP3s
OR VIDEOS
Indie Band Canada
162 St. John's Road, Toronto, ON M6P 1T9
Winston So webmaster@indiebandcanada.com
http://www.indiebandcanada.com
A free online community for independent bands to network and display their music. Free artist website and Internet radio exposure.
Click4Musicians.com
PO Box 677, Cave Creek, AZ 85327
Cindy Carlier westernmatch@earthlink.net
http://www.click4musicians.com
The all new click4musicians.com is now accepting band material for our singles community play list. Upload your MP3 and bio.
FoxyMelody Digital Distribution
1610 W. 7th St. #312, Los Angeles, CA 90017
PH: 310-857-6686
Jeremy Belcher j.belcher@foxymelody.com
http://www.foxymelody.com
Digital distribution for Indie labels/artists. Sell your music on the world's best online retailers.
MyOriginalMusic.Com
258 Neiger Hollow Rd. Barton, NY 13734
PH: 607-687-2381
Jay Hammond jhammond@myoriginalmusic.com
http://www.myoriginalmusic.com
Music Server and Promotion for Independent Artists, Bands, and Songwriters.
beAudible.com
Strandgaten 90, 5011 Bergen, Norway
PH: +4797149153 FX: +4755311197
Sigmund Elias Holm beaudible@beaudible.com
http://www.beaudible.com
A premier provider of digital music distribution systems using the Weed platform, developed by Shared Media Licensing.
RoadNoise
PO Box 1811, East Lansing, MI 48826
PH: 800-758-9267
K. Michael Babcock mail@road-noise.net
http://www.road-noise.net
Enables independent artists to bring their music to the world, and music fans to bring the world of music to their fingertips.
6. HELPFUL RESOURCES FOR YOUR BAND
Emergenza European and North American Live Festival
666 5th Ave. #341, New York, NY 10103
PH: 888-923-2263 FX: 514-276-3567
usa@emergenza.net
http://www.emergenza.net
Fifteen years ago Emergenza was born in Europe from a group of passionate musicians in need of expression. In the past few years, Emergenza has become the most widespread, reliable and well-known musical event in respect of numbers, visibility, facilities, partnerships and contacts offered to bands. Actually Emergenza is the most prominent musical contest for up and coming bands as far as international dimensions and coordination are concerned.
One Nite Of Music
Robin D. robind@robind.com
http://www.oneniteofmusic.com
Fund raiser for Katrina. TO EACH BAND, SOLO OR DUO ACT: You arrange to play at your favorite Bar, Restaurant, Coffee House or otherwise on this date. IF YOU ARE A BAR OR RESTAURANT OWNER: Arrange to get your Favorite Act or Performer to play on MONDAY, October 17th. All monies raised go directory to the Salvation Army or the Red Cross. Please visit our website to see how you can help.
What Was That
#276 - 189 Queen St., Melbourne, VIC 3000 Australia
PH: 03-9018-9497 FX: 03-9012-4205
Craig craig@whatwasthat.com.au
http://www.whatwasthat.com.au
We offer a promotional tool for musicians and artists to help promote their gigs for free. We provide a service to get more people coming to gigs, measure the response to posters and print advertising and add interactivity to promotional mediums (currently only available in Australia).
Australian artists only please!
YMC tv
2633 Mckinney #130-510, Dallas, TX 75204
PH: 214-922-9090 x884 FX: 214-303-0139
Darren Fair darren@ymctv.com
http://www.ymctv.com
New national music television network focusing on independent music. Launching in early 2006 to 11 million homes on The Dish Network. Looking for video content as well as new music.
F-Jam Online
Freddy fjam@luckymail.com
http://fjam.zapto.org
Musical collaboration studio site featuring a tracks server, public forums, webring, and more!
World Music Network
1912 River Bend Rd. Arlington, TX 76014
PH: 817-468-5746
Grady Smith musiclinkexchange@yahoo.com
http://www.worldmusicnetworkonline.com
Uniting the music community worldwide!
MyGigList.com
Box 654, London, ON N6A 5J4
PH: 519-670-5066
Cora Linden webmistress@mygiglist.com
http://www.mygiglist.com
Promoting gigs, artists, and venues in Southwestern Ontario online, for free!
New Tunes Cellular Music Channel
1316 W. Hwy 76 #226, Branson, MO 65616
PH: 417-365-0281
Gari Horton Gari@ntctv.com
http://www.NTCTV.com
A premium channel dedicated to the Unsigned &
Independent Artists. A musical channel for all music styles from Rap to
Gospel. Cell TV, shows off your bands performance from one song music
video to an entire concert! Cell Radio, a feature where the viewer
selects the music style & artists as well as a video clip to enjoy with
the music.
TCElectronica
admin@tcelectronica.com
http://www.tcelectronica.com
A networking site for Electronic musicians in Minnesota and beyond.
MusicPro Insurance Agency
45 Crossways Park Dr. Woodbury, NY 11797-2002
PH: 800-605-3187 FX: 888-290-0302
Julie insurance@MusicProInsurance.com
http://www.musicproinsurance.com
Affordable and convenient insurance for musicians, including instruments, equipment, studio, tour, composer's liability, travel accident and health.
ALLPARTS
13027 Brittmoore Park Dr. Houston, TX 77041
PH: 713-466-6414 FX: 713-466-5803
info@allparts.com
http://www.allparts.com
America's premier guitar and bass parts supplier.
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. @_festivalnet Search by 22 different music genres, event attendance, zip code radius & more. Plug in festival dates with club dates.
Westone Music Products
2235 Executive Circle, Colorado Springs, CO 80906
PH: 719-540-9333 FX: 719-540-9183
Paul Carhart music@westone.com
http://www.westone.com/music
In-ear musicians monitoring and hearing protection products.
7. THE BASICS OF BOOKING YOUR OWN TOURS
by Jay Flanzbaum, Onlinegigs.com
? 2007 All Rights Reserved. Used By Permission
To be able to book gigs successfully you'll need a ton of persistence and even better organization. Whether you are booking locally, regionally or nationally you will essentially need the same skills and tools to be effective. Independent bands and agents, by definition, tend to lack the nationwide connections necessary to make the idea of booking an extended tour possible. As a result the ones that are most successful are generally the same ones that understand how to gather, and effectively manage, all of their business related contacts. We've all seen some pretty lousy bands with some damn good gigs, so talent isn't always the main issue.
Data Collection
If you haven't already, you are going to have to start collecting contact information for the people that can help you achieve your goals. If your goal is to have a touring career in the music industry then you better find some venues, colleges, festivals, record companies, managers, record stores and media contacts, to do business with. It is never too early to start this process. You should start today even if your CD won't be ready for another 3 years and you don't have a full time drummer yet. Every person you meet and every possible gig that you hear about will need to be recalled at a later date. There are many sources that a beginner, or even a veteran, can turn to for gathering this type of information.
Printed music industry directories like the Indie Contact Bible can have an incredible amount of information to get you started. Alternative news weeklies like the Village Voice or the Boston Phoenix are a great source of local music venues, festivals and college listings. Most major markets in the country have an independent weekly publication; some of them can be found online at http://www.awn.org. Online music communities like are also an ideal place to find where bands of a similar style are playing.
Data Management
Once you start gleaning contact information from printed directories, online communities, newspapers and other bands, you will soon realize that you need a good way to organize and access all of this data. You most likely have pages full of notes, emails with venue referrals and spreadsheets covered with names and numbers. The key now is to be able to effectively organize all of your new found contacts in a way that maximizes your opportunity with each one of them.
Software or web based contact managers like Outlook, Act, Maximizer or Onlinegigs, are all efforts to help you centralize your business related messages, tasks and contact information. It doesn't make sense to dig thru multiple email boxes on different computers to find important messages. Anymore than it would to be unable to find an important phone number because you left your address book in Spokane, WA. Whatever application or method you choose, be sure to get as many of the following features as would apply to your specific needs.
- Complete and total access to all of your important contact and business information in one location
- Multiple, archived backups of your information in case of data loss or equipment failure
- Reminder system for upcoming activities and tasks
- Integrated email & fax messaging with message tracking and searching
- Customizable for your specific industry
- Remotely accessible from any internet connection
- Ability to easily share information with others
Importance of Contracts
After a few months of working your task list religiously and following up on every CD in a consistent and professional manner, you should be ready to start booking some gigs. After all the work you have just gone through to find contacts and reach out to each one of them, it would be a shame to lose out on a gig at the last minute. Admittedly, last minute cancellations and double bookings can and will occur. The story usually goes like this:
You sent out your CD in January; to finally book a gig in April for your upcoming August tour. It's just a Tuesday night for 100% of the door, rooms and food; but it's a needed stop-over between Colorado and Nevada. You call a week before the gig from somewhere in Texas and the club has never heard of you. What's worse, there is another band booked on that night and the other band has a confirmed written agreement. In a toss up situation between the band with no proof and the band with a contract, the band with the contract usually wins.
For gigs that are low-dough or no-dough deals, you should still send a written agreement. A written agreement is your only line of defense after all of the work you have gone thru to secure the gig, not to mention the work you will need to do for properly promoting it. Email is the easiest method because you can easily send the same message over and over until you get confirmation. Faxing is also relatively easy, however having to send a snail mail agreement over and over can be a pretty big hassle. Your goal here is to constantly remind the talent buyer of your agreement and put all of the details in front of them. The higher the dollar value on the agreement the more diligent you should be about insisting on a signed, hard-copy version of the agreement.
Getting Ready for the Road
Putting a group of people on the road for any amount of time comes with responsibilities. There are many people who will need detailed information about your schedule in order for your tour to be effective, safe and organized. Band members and their families, your manager, a publicist and even your fans all need to have access to different information about your trip. At a minimum all of your shows should be listed on your website as soon as they are confirmed. Ideally you would also list set times, the venue's address, phone number, website and any other bands on the bill with you.
The Tour Itinerary however is really the best way to be sure your trip is error free. Everyone on your team should have a chronological listing of each of your tour dates with as much or as little detail as they need. But the master itinerary for you and your band members should list all of the contact info for each venue, set times, payment details, venue capacity, ticket price, age limits and step by step directions from one gig to the next. This is your bible for the trip and the more copies you make the less likely you will be lost in Lincoln, Nebraska without the buyer's phone number or any sense of direction.
The Tour Itinerary is also a crucial tool in satisfying your greatest responsibility as a touring band: Advancing Your Shows. If you want your journey to free of surprises, then you will advance all of your shows. This simply means contacting the venue a week or so before the gig to confirm performance details, get important load in information and find out about any last minute changes. Out of your entire organization of band members, managers, agents, tour managers and interns, there needs to be one person who can assume this role.
Properly Promoting Your Shows
If you have never played before in a particular market, then most likely nobody in that town has any idea who you are. And why would anyone come out to see you play if they have no idea that you are even playing. What you really need is some press or at a minimum just a listing with the local radio and print music calendars.
Your first step is to put together all of the contact names, fax numbers, email addresses etc. for the local media outlets in a 30-60 mile radius of each of your gigs. Then you will have to prepare a professional and concise press release. A good release should be able to convey all of the pertinent information on one page. Radio stations and newspapers get flooded everyday with hundreds of releases, they do not have time to read numerous pages that outline your band's Zen philosophy or each of your bass player's numerous influences. Keep it to the point or they will not read it all. Keep your layout clean; do not use multiple fonts and font sizes or too many colors and graphics.
Make sure your release has a section with the performance details that is easy to pick out and includes: Performance Date, Band Name, Venue Name, Full Address, Phone, Website, Ticket Price, Set Times, Age Limit and any other bands on the bill. Also be sure to include your personal contact information: Contact Name, Phone, Email, and Website. If someone needs to get in touch for a photo or an interview, you will want them to be able to track you down quickly and easily.
Here is where your Contact Management program really comes in handy. You could take the time to create numerous, personalized press releases for each press contact you have found. This would probably take you days depending on the size of the market. If we are talking about New York City, it could take you months. But if you have the proper tools like I mentioned in the section above, you should be able to create one template and send personally addressed releases, by fax or email to hundreds of media contacts all at once.
The Dance
You should think of every band outing as a well choreographed dance. All of the administration needs to happen with precision for you to grow each new market. Put a check list in place and follow it like a religion for every gig and pretty soon it will become second nature to you and your band members. Organization alone is not going to make you a success but the sooner you get the basics in place the sooner you can spend time enjoying your music. In today's music marketplace, exposure for independent acts is generally limited to touring. If you want to be heard outside of your local market you are going to have get your band some gigs outside of your local market! Put a solid plan in place and achieve your goals.
Jay Flanzbaum of Onlinegigs got his start as a booking agent putting together national and regional tours for independent bands. Those years running a boutique agency inspired the creation of Onlinegigs, an incredibly powerful booking and promotional tool for independent bands and agents.
http://www.onlinegigs.com
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ADVERTISE IN THE INDIE CONTACT NEWSLETTER AND REACH
OUT TO 170,000 MUSICIANS AND SONGWRITERS EACH MONTH!
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RATES
Regular Placement Ads are $250 each.
If you advertise for 3 consecutive
issues, you will receive a $100 discount ($650 total).
Premium placements (the first 2 ad spots) cost $300 per month
(with no discount for multiple placements).
Contact:
newsletter@indiebible.com
or 1-800-306-8167 |
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