JPF Home Page Forums General Messages Industry Message Forum Looking for Promotion advice

I guess my last post asking if anyone has used musicsubmit.com or indiego.com was pretty uneventful. No one seems to have used either of these companies while they seem to be "just what I need".

Let me ask musicians who have learned a thing or two when it comes to promoting a tour. I have no problem booking the tour myself, but I will not have the time or resources I would need while on the road to keep the nessasary promotion duties rolling.

What is your advice? Find a private individual? Use a company like the ones above? Can someone be more specific?

I'm not looking for much, just someone who knows how to write and handle press releases, get attention from local press and radio along the way, and keep on top of all phone calls in and out.

Thanks so much for your help:)

Hello Autumn,
Welcome and please be patient as we gather the "troops" to chime in with their opinions, advice and recommendations. For one thing, this is a great place for folks to trade their experiences, so be prepared to offer what much (or little) you've got and you'll be surprised what can develop!

Regarding MusicSubmit.com
I just went there and saw some good endorsements right away!
For example:
"I think it's one of the best, most affordable, promotion tools out there for your music. This is one of the few businesses out there that will actually go do the promotion for you, NOT tell you to do it yourself."
Derek Sivers, CDBaby.com

They also say:
Music SUBMIT has been recommended as the top internet music promotion service available today by well known and reputable companies like CDBaby.com, American Songwriter Magazine and many others.

All cool endorsements!

Regarding indiego.com
I just tried to link to them, but it didn't work.
Not sure if they're still in business? Maybe try again later.

I think the key is to be able to talk to some of these services and let them know exactly what you need and expect. If they can help you, great! It does pay to shop around, and after you decide to try a service, give them a chance for maybe 3 - 6 months and see how it goes. If they follow through on their promises and you get some good results, great! If not, at least you'll have some valuable experience under your belt and you can regroup and take action from there.

If you can find a good and affordable service and it doesn't sound risky, that would be the best of all worlds!

Let's see what others have to say!
Michael

Autumn and I talked via email about this a few weeks back; I'll see if I can dig up the email and post relevant stuff here.

I heard from a very reputable source that MusicSubmit isn't what it used to be. They have a shaky rep among the people I know.

MusicSubmit was no good for me, and I've heard lots of bad things about them. TAXI is a more reputable organization, in my opinion. However the BEST way to promote yourself is to... do the promotion yourself. Jeffrey P. Fisher has a great book on the subject called "Ruthless Self Promotion in the Music Industry".

Ahh... Someone has used one of these companies and found their way out of the woodwork;)

I took your advice, Scott Andrew, from your email which was "ask your fellow musicains who they use/recomend..." and am continuing down that road. I don't seem to have alot of luck finding any who are interested in sharing any helpful info let alone contacts or leads, but will continue on. And while I know that the two companies that I've inquired about are more suited toward getting reviews and such, I am still interested in their reputation. Something you can't find out about by calling them;)

Thanks again, Scott for replying to my question!

Hmmm.. I don't think I have ever come across a single musician who said they used either of those companies. Weird. You might want to find out what year Derek made that comment (or if he even did for that matter.. I know at least 1 other company that was dropping Derek's name when he didn't support them at all but that's another story). I really have no knowledge about either company which in and of itself seems rather odd and unlikely if they are very active/popular.

Brian

Autumn,
I know a guy who is a touring musician in your area who I bet would be of benefit to you if you can catch him, he checks his myspace frequently, look up Tony Furtado and see if you can get a dialogue going with him , he has been touring for awhile and is very successful and talented. I think Mike's Management out of Arizona books him, but he is really a nice guy who stays as busy as he wants to...all the best...Moker

Hi, Autumn,

I know I've seen MusicSubmit mentioned on the GoGirls music email list. I can recall one specific instance of someone who likes them, but I believe she runs a radio internet show, so she sees the other side of things. Still, you might check out the GoGirls list - they also have a search or archive feature (someone responded this past week to an email I'd posted about 4 years ago!) that might give you an overview. www.gogirlsmusic.com

I, too, find it strange that Brian hasn't heard anything about either company!

hi
broadjam artist hoasting recommend rainmaker as a great and dependable pr agency-should be good if broadjam are recommending them-
http://www.rainmakerpublicrelations.com/
i wonder what Brian thinks of them
best wishes
tuki

A great source for help with promoting yourself is...

Bob Baker - www.thebuzzfactor.com

Indie Bible - www.theindiebible.com

I have heard of musicsubmit, but I do not know any songwriters in my large network who use them. Indiego the same. Most of my network, if they belong to anything, belong to one or two specific (& expensive) tip sheets out of Nashville, or Taxi.

If you are interested in both improving your craft/knowledge, getting reviews & having opps to pitch, I suggest you check out SongU - www.songu.com - you can try it fee for ten days. I'm a member there & have taken several courses. They even have courses on pitching songs and producing demos.

cheers
Hummin'bird / Vikki

HELLO EVERYONE, I`M NEW HERE AND COME FROM FAR ACROSS THE OCEAN, I AM FROM MALTA, MY BAND IS CALLED WINTER MOODS, IF YOU FIND A MINUTE, CHECK OUR http://www.myspace.com/wintermoods , YOU CAN GET AN IDEA OF WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE SOUND LIKE, WE HAVE JUST DONE A VIDEO FOR OUR LATEST SONG MARIGOLD, YOU CAN ALSO CHECK IT OUT ON THE SITE.

WELL,,,NICE TO BE PART OF THIS

GOD BLESS


IVAN WMS

HELLO EVERYONE, I`M NEW HERE AND COME FROM FAR ACROSS THE OCEAN, I AM FROM MALTA, MY BAND IS CALLED WINTER MOODS, IF YOU FIND A MINUTE, CHECK OUR http://www.myspace.com/wintermoods , YOU CAN GET AN IDEA OF WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE SOUND LIKE, WE HAVE JUST DONE A VIDEO FOR OUR LATEST SONG MARIGOLD, YOU CAN ALSO CHECK IT OUT ON THE SITE.

WELL,,,NICE TO BE PART OF THIS

GOD BLESS


IVAN WMS