From the moment you wake up in the morning and hear your favorite jingle on the radio to the moment you conscientiously go to sleep at night, humming the tunes of the song you also listened to in your car on your way to work, music is with you all the way.  Music is no longer just an art- with the advent of the new digital era, where everything travels everywhere at the speed of thought, it has become a companion, a necessity, a way of life.  This is an exciting time to be a musician- there is a daily adrenaline dose of going from heaven to hell and back.

Why? Simple. Because, although there are thousands of opportunities and millions of fans, there are also thousands of other musicians and millions of samples of their music.  Fresh tunes, thoughtful lyrics and inspiring live performances are all great,but not great enough.  It doesn’t help much that you’re blessed with talent if  the only people buying your work are family and friends.  After all, music is also a business, and like in any other business, you need to get your customers to buy your products and not those of the competition;marketing is the utmost tool for success. For those of you who are just getting introduced to the way things work, there are three general guidelines you need to focus on: people, getting through to people and getting through to money.

1. Fans

It doesn’t matter if you’re The Rolling Stones or a fresh, new born band playing in your family’s garage, a solid and long-lasting music career always begins with one very simple golden rule: keep in touch with your fans.  It might sound redundant, but in today’s limitless, digitized world, many people tend to forget about the importance of personal interactions, which, in case of musicians, are the ground on which their reputation is later on consolidated.

Start up a fan base, but do not forget to keep fueling it.  Remember that these are people to whom your music appeals greatly and who decide to give up on some of their spare time just to pay attention to you, so some attention back is the very least they could get in return.  Always post on your personal website or blog,even when-or,should I say,especially when- you’re not being so active and you don’t have new releases.

Moreover,keep in mind that there is a difference between your Internet fans and those who show up at your gigs- while the first category is a worldwide-spanning sum of music aficionados, the second is a more close-knit group which should be also very close-knit with you; distributing keepsakes, staying in touch with fan group leaders and answering their questions should never slip out of your mind.  Show them that you appreciate how much they appreciate you.

2. Internet

Ok,so you can come up with quality music and already have a kick-off album or single in the making,while focusing on getting booked by some of your local clubs and venues.  This is more than promising, but, in order to really stir things up and get some exposure, people need to know about what you’re planning to do. How to get yourself out there?All hail the mighty Internet.

The web is full of outlets that allow you to fire away some signals announcing that you’re ready to steal the spotlight.  First of all, the major objective you need to get ticked on your checklist is that of sending out press releases.  Anytime there is an upcoming event linked to you,such as an album release,a video launch or a live performance, you should inform the media about this,so it can do its job of later on informing the public.  Via a press release you have the opportunity of promoting your activity in your words, the way you deem it necessary.

Getting websites, ezines and newspapers to spread the word is magnificent, but not nearly as effective as getting the end-consumers directly to start buzzing all over the place about your novelties.  Luckily enough, if in the good old days it was more strenuous to reach the crowds, of course, the Internet has thought of that for you and has mastered some social networking,live streaming and hosting sites  that are genuine advertising gems.

I’m talking here about MySpace, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and the like.  There’s no doubt about it, if you want to become an established name in the music business, you have to have personal profiles on each and every one of them; they will enable you to maintain your bond with your fans, to attract new interest, to easily communicate any outflow of information you want to convey and,last,but not least, to provide the public with your creations on a first-hand basis, by uploading your tracks and videos.

There are many cases of artists,such as Santogold or M.I.A., who got their names on people’s lips by first getting their names on people’s desktops;these sort of self-made,underdog musicians  have become who they are today due to their successful integration in the online music community.  By using websites to host their music and vids, by sending tracks for free or posting them on MySpace, their songs have become viral art samples passed back and forth between members of the same networks,thus snowballing into real-life popularity from a virtual-life public appraisal.  If you are properly acquainted with the  possibilities that yield the best results, there are practically no limits to  the true power of the Internet in terms of marketing.

3. Music Licensing

If you’ve nailed down the right methods to keep your fans wanting more and to have more crowds wanting to keep up with you,  your career as a musician is most likely going to turn out to be profitable and satisfactory. Then,you might ask, what more could you want? Well, to put it in a nutshell, you want to maximize your profit and rank as excellent.  This is where music licensing comes in to lend a hand.

Believe it or not,there are actually bands and singers who deliberately choose not to even complicate their lives with touring, concerts, radio shows, videos and other such elements that, for a “traditional” musician are essential, but, instead, prefer to strictly  pass on their music via the soundtracks of movies, TV shows, video games or advertisements.  This is rock solid evidence of the benefits of music licensing: it is a high-engrossing,risk-minimizing industry, guaranteeing not only instant repayment for your work, but also wide overall publicity. Just think of acts such as Snow Patrol or The Ting Tings- the world wouldn’t be watching them as much if it hadn’t watched The OC or One Tree Hill beforehand.

Averaging at around $4000-6000 per song and peaking at a little over a quarter of a million dollars, if you’re a household name and if the music supervisor needs your song and your song only, placing your music in visual media is nothing short of a goldmine. Of course, there are lots of hurdles that you have to overcome, such as getting your demos into the supervisor’s stereo or having your mails actually  read - similar to the struggle to attract a record label’s attention-, but, obviously, technological expansion again brings its contribution and helps pave the way towards reaching this goal.

You now have the option of getting noticed by music supervisors without having to go through the ordeal of mixing tapes and mailing letters, because there are online platforms that bring the two sides together.  Look for online platforms that brings music service providers and seekers together in a user-centered, specifically designed interface that makes finding the perfect song for your project a one-click-away job.

Basically, a place where one can upload his or her music and direct a music supervisor or label representative for consideration. By all means, send out your entire albums or playlists by creating links that licensees will be able to explore when they receive your message - no more hassles due to emails and lack of opportunities.  In the end, the outcome is more than favorable for both parties, as both get what they want: the supervisor gets his music without getting stressed out, while the musician gets his well-earned money without getting worked-out.

The handbook on how to go from good-in-the-neighborhood to topping the Billboard Hot 100 obviously comprises much more pieces of advice and insider tips, ranging from how to do guerilla marketing to what kind of music video to shoot, but, within all this intricately layered structure of the business, these three keywords should be the theories that you put into practice to get started well.  For an emerging artist, these plain, cost-effective and attention-grabbing marketing tools build up a road that goes straight to success.

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