JW Mastering Blog
Date: 12.30.09
BANDCAMP
Bandcamp is a nescessity if you are a musician trying to get your music out to your fans. From my perspective as a mastering engineer I think these guys got it right with their delivery format. The problem I have with media players like the one on myspace is that they just sound horriable. With bandcamp you can uploade a .wav and let the guys at band camp do all the conversions for you. Furthermore, fans can decide which format they wish to download. Downloadable formats are mp3, AAC, FLAC, and more. The quality of the player sounds great which urges your fans to buy right there on the spot. No need to direct them to iTunes to purchase your songs. I also like the fact that when you purchase songs, all the album artwork is embeded with the files. Check out this video that explains what bandcamp can do for you. Oh, did I forget to mention that this is another FREE service for you!
Date: 12.09.09
Hey there, its Justin. I ran across some great information for those of you that are using
Reverbnation. Those of you who don't know anything about Reverbnation, I suggest that you check out their web site. I think the two guys who put the whole thing together are genius.
There are so many tools for marketing music that some of the more critical tools could easily be over looked. With so many options I think most only scratch the surface on what Reverbnation can do for you.
Date: 12.08.09
Bandize
Are you a musician or are you in a band that needs organization? It is time for you to Bandize!Now this is really nice. Bandize is the total band organizational tool. This web based application will let you take control. You can book shows or even book an entire tours. You can keep track of all your contacts, communicate with other band members, create tasks and spread these tasks with other band members, and most importantly keep track of your band finances. This is just breaking the ice on what Bandize can do for you. There is a small fee of $15/month, but this is still cheaper than any manager's fee.
Date: 11.20.09
Moses Avalon Company
What The Major Record Labels Don't Want You To Know: How To Survive the Scams and Shams of the Music Business
The Moses Avalon Company is an organization developed to help musicians, songwriters, and others involved in the music business.
Mosesavalon.com has published several books in the past that are well worth your time to read. One of the books "Confessions of a Record Producer", has grown to become sort of the industry bible. In this book Moses touches on topics such music attorneys, music contracts, music royalties, and some of the dirt in the music industry that can really be alarming and jaw dropping. I would suggest to anybody trying to make it in the music business to read this book!! One of the unique things that I found on the web site was Nadine's Timeline. If your band needs a little direction, Nadine's Timeline will show you step by step how to grow from garage band to arena band. There are others too like the "Scam Of The Month" blogs. I could go on and on. You should just check it out for yourself but here is a little video to show you some interesting information about internet sales.
Date: 11.18.09
Get Your Fans Your Merch With Your Very Own Online Retail Store!!It is no wonder that the internet has taken over the music industry. As an independent artist, you can sell your music and brand all over the world with little cost or overhead. This is something that artists of the past had to rely on major record labels to do for them. Now it has gotten even easier with a new online retail store called
Audiolife. All you have to do is create your own store, sell products worldwide, and they will take care of the rest. The best thing about it all is that you, the artist, are in control of the whole process. You don't have to pay a middle man, go to a million different manufactures for cd and shirts, and you don't have to pay some major company 20% or more to make all this happen. There is a fee that you pay for the manufacturing of your merchandise, but you only pay these fees after selling the product. Furthermore, the most expensive fee you pay, $7.52, is for items such as shirts, hoodies, and other similar items. You can set your own prices, and you don't have to carry a large inventory of these items.
As you can see
Audiolife has taken all the risk out of merch and distribution. I am going to recommend before you do sell your album, that you have
JW Mastering take care of all your mastering needs.
Date: 11.15.09
How Does SoundExchange Work??Curious as to how
SoundExchange works, and how it can benefit you? Then check out this short video they created a couple of days ago:
Date: 11.12.09
Addicted To Songwriting??This is a very unique songwriting online community. Addicted to songwriting is an amazing resource for songwriting, articles, tips, and more. The best thing about this online songwriting community is that it is free.
Date: 11.11.09
ISRC Codes??? What is that???One of the things that I always ask about when I am mastering a cd is ISRC codes. Mastering engineers usually put this information in while applying the CD text. More often than not new artists just simply look at me funny and say what are ISRC codes. There is nothing to majestic about ISRC codes. This code provides a means to automatically identify recordings for royalty payments. Also most of the digital distribution companies require ISRC's to sell the content online. Who doesn't like to get paid, right?? Furthermore, this is another freebie. Make sure you get your ISRC codes prior to setting up your mastering. It does take a few days to get your code back.
Click here to get information on ISRC codes and how you can obtain your unique code.
Date: 11.08.09
How About Earning Some Extra Money With Your New Music Video??That's right!! You can actually earn some extra money using your new video with an online marketing tool called
Revver. After you upload your video to Revvers' servers, they place a small advertisement after your video. Whenever viewers click on this add, you receive a portion of the advertisement profits. However, getting paid is really the icing on the cake. Using Revver you can advertise your video to the masses. With this tool you can email your videos, embed videos in your blog, website, or anyother social networking profile that has html abilities, offer RSS feeds for your fans to stay updated on your videos, and create podcasts. As you see, you can accomplish two major tasks at once by advertising your video and get paid whenever viewers click on the add. The potential for earnings can be tremendous. The best of all, is that this is another free one. You don't even have to spend a dime marketing your video. You will have to set up a paypal account if you don't already have one. This is simply to collect your funds. After you have reached a certain threshold in your Revver account, they deposit your money into your paypal account. Check out this short video about Revver by Angela Gyetvan, a Revver representative.
As you can see, you do not want to miss out on this one. It is easy money for doing what you are already going to do anyways, promote your video. It is kind of like having a Revver endorsement.