Web 2.0 for Musicians

Recently Around the Web for Musicians (January 17, 2010)

2010-01-19T03:25:00.000-08:00

Here are just a few of the great articles posted by others this past week around the web regarding Web 2.0 resources and techniques for the musician and artist community:

A guest post at Hypebot by David Sherbow gives a list of 30+ income streams for musicians
Music Think Tank has a wonderful article on goal setting and organization for the New Year under the title, Seven Steps to Reaching Your Music Career Goals in 2010
Greg Rollett of Gen-Y Rock Stars and Label 2.0 has a list of 100 Resources for DIY Musicians, and Creative Destruction gives us a summary of their favorites
A mixed list of creative arts resources -- writing, music and art -- comes in this week from Teacher Reboot Camp under the title, Goal: Create (40 Writing, Music, & Art Resources)

Website Music Player: Digital Distribution with Affiliate Sales

2010-01-11T19:51:00.000-08:00

Generically-named Website Music Player is one of many solutions online to directly sell your music online, so on the surface and given the cost (minimum $99/yr or $16/mo), this doesn't seem like the best move. However, their Platinum Package provides the ability to handle affiliate sales, letting your fans and friends market and sell your music. The easily-embeddable widget allows for some customization:

With so many options in the field of digital distribution providing cheaper and simpler solutions -- TuneCore and BandCamp are two of my favorites -- it's hard for me to recommend Website Music Player as the best way to go if you are interested in selling your MP3s online. But if you have a loyal street team and a large fan base, the expense of using their affiliate option may be pennies compared to what they will help you make by selling your music for a small commission.

Quick Question: How Do I Create a Band Page on Facebook?

2010-01-03T00:56:00.000-08:00

This is a question I get quite often when I talk to musicians about using available Web 2.0 tools -- how do I create a band page on Facebook? Facebook hasn't made it very easy to find this tool, yet the URL is surprisingly simple:

http://www.facebook.com/pages

Once you have reached this page, it will show all the fan pages on Facebook. Not exactly what you were looking for? Look next to the search box and you will see a nice, big "Create Page" button. Click this button and you will be taken to a page that looks like this:

Step One: Select the "Artist, Band, or Public Figure" option. This should supply a drop down box allowing you to be more specific. Scroll down and select "Band" or "Musician" -- whichever fits your musical persona best.

Step Two: Give your page a name, preferably the name of your band or your artist name. This will also be the name found in the search results if people come looking for your band, so make it work to your advantage.

Step Three: Click "Create Page" to complete.

You are off to the races with your very own band page on Facebook. You'll want to add a profile photo and fill in all the profile information to finish the page, then you can start spreading the word. And remember, don't just tell the Facebook people about your new Facebook band page -- post it on your blog, your website, your Twitter, and whatever other means you have to get information to your fans.

You can always come back here to http://www.facebook.com/pages to find your page, where you can click the link across the top labelled "Pages I Manage" to get you right to the list of pages you have built. The direct link for managing your pages is http://www.facebook.com/pages/manage.

Feel free to submit any quick questions you might have to info@webformusicians.com or you can post it in the comments of the posts here. And there's always Twitter...

Artist Data: The Total Web 2.0 Management Solution

2010-01-02T03:30:00.000-08:00

The new site for musicians dubbed Artist Data could be the product every independent musician is looking for: a site to manage updates to blogs, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and a vast array of other music-related sites including SonicBids and Jambase. Before giving you a quick tour, here's the official home page pitch from Artist Data:

OUR CORE BELIEF: Musicians should only enter data once.

ArtistData tirelessly works to give musicians more time to be creative. We're building solutions to automate the monotonous updating of artist websites, social network profiles, concert databases, Twitter, official news feeds, iCal, local press, fan newsletters, and even tour books. When an artist updates our site, we update all their sites. Our current users save hundreds of hours, giving them more time to do what they love: create music.

I've used Artist Data to promote my last couple of gigs and can say I'm quite happy with the results. Not only did many people say they came to the gig after seeing the gig posted to Facebook from Artist Data, but they also looked at the information about the gig provided by Artist Data.

They seem to be adding new features every month, having just added the ability to sync directly to your Facebook Band page (as opposed to your personal account's Wall). All of the features I've used -- Twitter integration particularly -- have worked smoothly and easily with minimal time and effort. I highly recommend you sign up for a free account at Artist Data and check it out. I'm certain you'll find yourself spending less time on your computer and more time making music. Watch the full product tour below, courtesy of Artist Data.

Index of Web 2.0 Music Sites (Updated 1/2/10)

2010-01-01T02:56:00.000-08:00

Bookmark this page! As we begin our survey of Web 2.0 sites and services for musicians, this page -- our Index of Web 2.0 Music Sites -- will grow and grow. Every site we cover will be added to this list and categorized, so be sure to save this page -- or return to it any time from the link in the menu bar. And now, on with the list thus far...

Data Management

Artist Data

Music Notation

Noteflight

Music Production

Indaba Music

Revenue Streams

Kerchoonz

Social Music Networks

Kerchoonz

Social Musician Networks

Indaba Music

Recently Around the Web for Musicians (June 19, 2009)

2009-06-20T02:23:00.000-07:00

Here are just a few of the great articles posted by others this week around the web regarding Web 2.0 resources and techniques for the musician and artist community:

Using Web 2.0 Integration Tools to Help Promote Your Label (Kahua Music)
This article addresses MySpace, Facebook and Twitter, as well as the value of having a central hub
The Future of Digital Music for Indie Artists (Bob Baker)
Suggests some ideas and strategies for experimentation in the ever changing world of Web 2.0 for musicians
Promoting Music and Shows with Web 2.0: Bassnectar (Handshake 2.0)
Profile of San Francisco DJ and discussion of Web 2.0 strategies used

Noteflight: Basic Online Music Notation

2008-12-04T22:53:00.000-08:00

I was very excited when I first heard about Noteflight, a site supposedly providing online music notation. The capabilities were not exactly what I expected, but I found a useful tool that could become a key ingredient to a teacher's online toolbox.

From their website, here are the three key goals of Noteflight:

Make it easy to create and share written music online.
Empower developers to build a new world of musical and educational applications.
Encourage a vibrant community of users by keeping the basics free.

I thought I would put it up to the test with my notation program of choice, Finale, but I used something simple and quick as the test: a basic two-handed arrangement of "Mary Had a Little Lamb".

In Finale, it took me about 3 minutes to create a finished part -- Noteworthy, even without the use of my keyboard, only took five minutes. I have to say, I like the finished product from Noteflight -- it's solid, and while the margins are a bit wacky, it reads very clean and clear. Check it out below beside the Finale version:


Finale version	Noteflight version

With all it's good looks, however, it doesn't do much good if you can't put in what you want. The capabilities are fairly limited, the playback doesn't support swing, and the interface is not particularly intuitive -- mainly because many of the capabilities are not available via the menus provided. You also can't get your music out of Noteflight and back into your notation program or sequencer of choice. If it could import and export MIDI format files, this might become a very valuable tool for serious composers, but with the limitations of the notation, only a fairly basic leadsheet, single line, duet or piano arrangement will work well with this system -- otherwise you are probably looking at a fair amount of time putting your music into Noteflight. I think the most promise comes from educational applications -- practice exercises for beginning piano students or scale and arpeggio studies, for example. I can see the potential of using this much more as a teacher -- to disseminate new music to work on -- rather than distribute music to people for a rehearsal or recording. If you are interested in spreading the word about your original compositions, then Noteflight might be a good place to getting your work in the hands of teachers or professionals that may actually use it. Stroll by Noteflight to take a look at the future of online notation -- and don't forget this site is still in "beta", so there's much more to come than what is offered as of this writing.

Indaba Experiment No. 1 is Live and Ready for Your Tracks

2008-12-04T05:30:00.000-08:00

We've started our first Indaba Experiment to give people a chance to play around with the site and actually use the recording interface -- I know I'd like to try it out with a test first before I actually try to use it professional purposes. I decided to go with something fairly easy that everyone could find a way to contribute to: a hymn, a la Albert Ayler, Coltrane's "Africa Brass" or a giant New Orleans street band. The basic version MIDI track has been posted on the Session page for you to start working with. Feel free to do anything -- anything. Play the melody, play a harmony part, improvise over it. In the end, there won't be "time" but the click is here to give reference. Play loose. I'd like effects, too. Anything and everything, including the kitchen sink. I may not use it all, but I'd like to have options. The sheet music is also posted. Again, I don't want the kind of blocky time that appears in the sheet music, but it's there for reference. The sheet music has the melody line and the basic piano arrangement I played as an accompaniment.

As far as I'm concerned, the only thing that needs to stay is the basic melody -- please ornament and stretch it -- and the harmony. Have at it and try it out at Indaba Music. I'm looking forward to it, too! We'll be giving you a full update on the progress.

Mashable Presents Fifty Majestic MySpace Music Layouts

2008-12-01T15:28:00.000-08:00

We haven't covered MySpace Music in depth -- don't worry, we will -- but for those of you that already have MySpace Music sites, or are ready to jump in and start building one, Mashable has crafted a wonderful post covering fifty eye-popping designs, just to show you it isn't all about background colors and silly fonts. I've reposted a few of my favorites below, but be sure to click through for the full article and all fifty designs.

Click through for the full article and all fifty designs from Mashable

Indaba Music for Online Music Production

2008-11-30T16:29:00.000-08:00

Indaba Music is much more than a social networking site for musicians: not only does it allow you to find and connect with musicians based on style or instrument, it allows you to actually produce and mix down a project right through their site. Really! The process is relatively simple, even with the free account:

Step 1: Set up your profile. As with any site on the internet you are using for business purposes and are representing yourself, you should always be as detailed as possible without being too lengthy. Once you've set up a few profile pages on various sites, you'll get to know what to expect: basic bio, keywords/tags, genre, etc.

Step 2: Start a project. If you've got a track that needs something (banjo solo, for example), you can start your project and upload that mixed version of the track. Otherwise, create a project and describe how you'd like to collaborate on something new. Be sure to list what instruments you are looking for, and as always, be as descriptive as possible.

Step 3: Connect with musicians. If you want to seek out musicians, just search for them based on whatever criteria you're looking for: instrument, style, influences -- even equipment! Otherwise, let the musicians find you. You can have them audition, or let them get at your tracks automatically.

Step 4: Get tracks from musicians. Your new instrumentalist then uploads the new track of their solo or part to the Indaba site. You can then download the file and use your own mixing software to put it together, or you can do it right through their site:

Step 5: Upload your final mix. You can keep adding new mixes as you keep building the project, and when you are all done, you can upload your final mix and it will appear as a "song" as part of the site's music offerings.

If you hate the idea of having your music-in-process be open to the whole online community at Indaba Music, you can make everything private and collaborate with the musicians you want. Invite the musicians you work with regularly and assemble your team here to work on ideas or to make decisions about mixes, for example.

Indaba Music also has the full compliment of social networking services: groups, events, messaging, forums, comments and blogging capabilities, plus the occasional contest. On many levels, one could use their profile page here as a home base web presence, but I wouldn't recommend it -- regarding this portion of the site, I'd call it "LinkedIn for Musicians".

I'll be setting up an experimental project on Indaba Music soon that may or may not end up being anything, but if you'd like to test out the functions on the site, I encourage you to come and mess around with this project. We will be doing a number of online "experiments" over the course of this blog to test how these Web 2.0 sites actually work, so stay tuned for more of that!

Kerchoonz: Social Music Site Compensates Artists for Streams and Downloads

2008-11-29T07:08:00.001-08:00

Although still in beta, United Kingdom's Kerchoonz is already making waves in the world of Web 2.0 -- they will be compensating artists for the downloads and streams of their music. To quote from their website:

Kerchoonz is a site built by musicians for musicians with an aim to deliver music, a fun experience and most importantly give you music for free whilst paying the artists!

Kerchoonz is a full-on social network. You can make friends, create playlists, watch videos, blog, post on forums, play games, create polls & quizzes, chat, join groups and schools, submit current news, and listen to music and downloads free! Plus, you can keep in touch with and display all your other social networks like myspace, youtube and facebook from within your Kerchoonz profile page under your Networkz tab!
At Kerchoonz everyone can play and everybody wins. Kerchoonz is the social network that pays musicians every time you listen or download music. Kerchoonz shares advertising revenues generated on artists profiles and their download page so that you can access music freely and also support your favourite artists. It's free for the listeners and it helps gives artists what they need to keep making music and support their art: money.

I've uploaded one of my recordings, Septology: In the Beginning, to the site, but only after signing up (and paying) can one do this. It's relatively inexpensive, and from the looks of a recent e-mail, they've upgraded me to "Lifetime" status, so I may not have to renew because I got in on the ground floor. Thus: now is a good time to sign-up if you are interested in seeing what Kerchoonz has to offer you as an independent musician. As far as I can tell, it will be well worth the little bit of money it costs to join as an Artist. When the site finally comes out of Beta and all the features are working, I'll do another update and let you know if I'm seeing any results. Feel free to visit my Kerchoonz profile, or listen to the Septology album online -- all for free.

Class Tonight on Web 2.0 for Musicians at Seattle Drum School Georgetown

2008-11-25T03:18:00.000-08:00

In case you haven't heard about this via their advertising, I'll be teaching my first class at the Seattle Drum School Georgetown about this content called, not surprisingly, "Web 2.0 for Musicians and Other Artists". It's only $15 for this session, and if you make it tonight you'll get a discount on all future sessions. From the advertisement:

Want to get the most exposure for your YouTube videos?

Unsure how to tackle Facebook and MySpace?

Interested in learning how to use Flickr to promote yourself?

Did you know there are hundreds of new tools online for communicating with your audience and attracting new fans?

Come to "Web 2.0 for Musicians and Other Artists" on November 25th at 7pm for a two-hour in-depth introductory session teaching you how to use these new Web 2.0 tools to promote, publicize, and sell your music, writing, film or art. Only $15, plus a discount on all future sessions! Whether you are a teenage musician or a veteran professional, this is for you, so sign up now! Call today!

If you can't make it tonight, no problem! Just e-mail me and let me know you are interested in future sessions so I can keep you informed. Tonight is some basics on the big sites, but in the future we will focus on less-common Web 2.0 sites and more musician-specific applications online. If you get a chance - come by! Only $15!

Welcome to Web 2.0 for Musicians

2008-11-22T13:58:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the new blog, Web 2.0 for Musicians, a blog dedicated to documenting the growing number of Web 2.0 applications available to musicians for a variety of uses, from promotion to production and much more. We are in the final stages of preparing an e-book on this subject, and this blog will serve to bring you extended and updated content above and beyond the text of the e-book, keeping you informed of all the latest applications as they hit the web. Check back with us each and every week as we updated you on all things Web 2.0 for musicians.