Pushy Producers & Spam DJs

In this day an age, with the internet being as prevalent as it is, and communication with the world happens with the click of a mouse, its easy for a person to promote their music to the world. With social networking sites like facebook, myspace, twitter, etc...it is easy to connect to thousands of people in an afternoon of marketing. But, this has quickly become an over saturated market, and a way to become "just another pushy producer". I know many of you who have large facebook accounts might find it tempting to share your music once, twice, 3 times...or even more per day in hopes that your music lands in the ears of listeners...but I want to talk about why this is not a good idea, and how other methods may help you in the long run.

First of all, lets talk about facebook....probably the biggest social networking site and the easiest way to get your music to other people. Now, I understand that keeping your music on the top homepage of other peoples facebook will keep your music in the spotlight, but is that always a good thing. First of all, lets think about all the other artists connected to your facebook who do the same thing. Do you listen to every amateur DJ mix that is uploaded to your facebook...especially those "LADIES NIGHT...the best fuckin mix ever made, blah blah blah, you should have been there...blah blah blah...you should have seen the girls..blah blah blah". Well, one word...NOT COOL. End of story there. If you are going to release a MIX (not a track), at least put some interesting comments that explain your mix that might make people want to listen to it. And, please....POST IT NO MORE THAN 2 or 3 times total...and not within the same day! After that...it becomes annoying really. There are other methods to go about promoting that same mix...which I will talk about in a minute.

On facebook, have an artist page where you can keep all your mixes just incase someone actually does want to listen. You can also post it to your homepage...but remember, that counts as 2 posts for any people who are members of your group and also your friend. Another thing to do is to send an UPDATE to the members of your group announcing a new mix or track. That way, the people who want your info, will get it.

A total DOUCHEBAG thing, in my opinion, is people who TAG other people in their video mixes just so their mix shows up in their pictures or videos. DOUCHE DOUCHE DOUCHE!!!! DONT DO IT!!!

Another totally douchebag thing to do is to just send a mix to someone via FACEBOOK messaging....especially if you arent even replying to people. Remember, these are REAL PEOPLE, and you are nothing more than a spammer at this point. If you really want someone to listen to your mix, make conversation with them first, then offer your mix. However, its still a pretty selfish thing to talk to someone JUST to promote your mix.

Another idea, if you are a DJ, is to start releasing weekly, or bi-weekly charts selections. Offer the top new songs you think are worth listening to...then offer that link in the same place as your mixes. That way, you are offering a nice service to the people...and then they can find your mix if they choose to. This will definitely make you look less pushy, and actually be providing a nice service to those who are like minded with your genre.

Next I want to talk about another great way of helping the music world...and in turn, people actually WANT to hear you because you have helped them. START A TECH BLOG!!!!!! Talk about things that are useful to helping other musicians, or other listeners. Start a blog detailing the clubs in your area. Start a blog listing all the good parties in the area. Start a blog talking about the newest and hottest producers. ANYTHING that is not helping you, but instead helping everyone else!!!! Karma is real people. And in this day and age...people are really quick to call bullshit....and by bullshit, I mean spam artists...or people with ulterior motives. Be honest and genuine, and provide a nice service to people...and people will then in turn be more likely to actually WANT to hear your art...rather than shoving it down their throats. Also, you should be wanting MORE out of life than just promoting selfishly...you should be helping the evolution of music, and the evolution of your local scene (if that is your intent). By doing these such things, mixed with the following ideas, you can get PURE music enthusiast to listen to your music...and listen to it with their ears AND brains, not just skipping through a track to see if "I AM BETTER THAN THIS ARTIST" (which I know we have all done at some point....listened to a mix of someone just to think that we are better than them). You go to music hell for this you know.

Anyway, if you are providing a nice service, then the next thing to do is to make sure your music is available on ALL POSSIBLE outlets. Make sure you are uploading your tracks or mixes to all the websites that fit your genre...even if you dont think it will be listened to on that website as much. The reason for this is because of google. Googles algorithm has become so good and powerful, that it takes into account every little thing on the net. If you are providing nice blogs that are receiving hits, and especially return hits...google is going to start ranking you higher within the search engines. Having back links on other websites is really helpful for this...and will help the likely hood that your music is found by accident via google searches. Make sure to put TONS of text info pertaining to your tracks. Also, if its a DJ mix, put track listings so that when people go to search for other artists...they may stumble upon your mix and give it a listen....possibly becoming a fan. People, and especially other artists, tend to like artists that they find themselves...rather than being spammed to. The more relevant info you put around your mix or track, the better chance google has to find it. Also, be careful with punctuation around your tracks name or artist name as google tends to have problems finding things surrounded by punctuation.

Remember, the old days are gone. The days when record labels made tons of flyers, sent mass emails, and put thousands of dollars into the release of one track (im sure some still do it, but from a more amateur point...no). It is easier than ever to make a track and show it off to the world, but that also comes with its downsides too (being sent music that isnt even worth listening to). If we take a more humble approach to promoting ourselves, I think, in this day and age, in the long run, it will prove more fruitful. We need to stop being so selfish, and forget about being "STARS"...because that isnt what music is about. Its about music. Period. Its about sharing it with people who want to hear it, and possibly....if you are REALLY LUCKY, REALLY GOOD, AND REALLY PATIENT...you can make a living out of it. But I dont think you will get very far being pushy and spammy. That just makes you a douchebag.

Peace!

FroBot