Press Releases

In terms of press Releases musicbizacademy.com has everything you need to know. I will at some point copy and paste the most important parts of i and put it into this blog, but until then here is the link:
http://www.musicbizacademy.com/articles/pressrelease.htm

Choice FM

I was listening to Asha's Request Hour on Choice FM and she was talking about how independant artists could send them their singles/albums and they would listen to them and give them feedback. They have even aired some idie artists on some of their shows (not just the late night shows but Masterstepz 6-8). this shows that even some radio stations help indie artists by talking about/airing their songs.

Music Promo Tips

(http://www.bardscrier.com/musicbiz/)

· The cheapest and most effective way of marketing your music is by not doing it at all. Rather, it's by getting other people to do it for you: The easiest way to do this is by causing people to know about you by word of mouth. For example if you reach one person then they can talk about you and invite you to their gigs.
· But I became a fan and started telling my friends about them when Larry Kirwan, the lead singer of Black 47, emailed me back: through blogs such as Myspace people are able to find out more about you and your band not only through your page but because you are able to comment them back, making them feel a sort of personal connection because not every band takes the time to do this

· Although exposure is critical to success in the entertainment business, the high cost of traditional marketing has made generating widespread publicity beyond the reach of many independent artists, labels and emerging companies: To overcome this many online companies have opened up in order to cater for those independent artists trying to distribute their music to the public. For example there is the Billboard and Vocus Music and Entertainment SEO Press Release Service which was launched on the 24th October 2006.
· Top 13 Music Marketing Articles of March 2006

1. The Price Is Right: Making Money With the Real Deals
2. Passive Income for Musicians
3. 5 Unique Ways To Get FREE Advertising for Your Band
4. Making Money with Free Stickers Inside
5. Don't Lose Web Traffic Through Your Email
6. Two Easy Steps to Describing Your Band for Greater Web Traffic and More Fans, Part 1
7. Promoting Your Music Through Amazon.com
8. Who Needs Flyers? How to Generate a Flood of Local Web Site Traffic for your Unsigned Band
9. How to Write Testimonials that Sell Like Magic
10. How to Sell CDs from your Website and Still Keep Your Fans Happy
11. How to Effectively Sell Your CDs Online
12. Cats Know Good Music Promotion When They Hear It
13. eBay auction madness offers a great lesson viral music marketing

Promoting your music via Myspace

For a long time now it has been known that Myspace is a good tool for music artists to promote their bands/themselves as a means to reach more fans. Many people start off on Myspace and grow from the fan base that they create from there. A man named Bob Baker wrote a book on how artists can use Myspace to their full potential. Here are some of his ideas
(go to this page for the full information
http://www.bob-baker.com/af/7myspc.html):



"Attract more fans, sell more music, bring more people to your shows — I guarantee it!" – Bob Baker

With more than 185 million registered users and hundreds of thousands of music acts setting up free profiles on the site, MySpace.com has become a godsend for countless independent artists.
I spent several months researching MySpace and uncovering how the most successful acts use it to reach thousands of fans, make connections, and advance their music careers.
I searched far and wide for useful how-to information on MySpace music marketing ... and couldn't find any. So I decided to publish it myself. Therefore, to help you reach thousands of new fans and make valuable music biz contacts on MySpace (especially if you are just getting started with the site) ... I have published a 132-page, first-ever, one-of-a-kind book called ...

Here's a quick look at some of the Contents:

MySpace: The Big Picture

• What "social networking" is and how it can help you market your music to the masses.
• What successful indie acts like Relient K, My Chemical Romance, Tila Tequila, DJ Heavygrinder, and Hawthorne Heights (as well as major acts like Madonna, Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Black Eyed Peas, and Death Cab for Cutie) know that you don't.

How to Set Up a Killer MySpace Profile

• What most bands do wrong with their profile headline
• Insider tips on fine-tuning your MySpace profile for maximum punch
• How to use the "Influences" and "Sounds Like" sections to reach your ideal raving fans
• The one thing you must do with your song files

• An awesome song sample trick hardly anyone is doing
• What you really should and shouldn’t do with your default photo
• How to maximize your Profile Settings
• Special resources to help you spice up your profile's look and feel (with an important word of warning)

Using MySpace to Turbo-Charge Your Indie Music Career

• The 7 types of "Friends" you need to make on MySpace
• How the most successful bands build huge and loyal friend lists
• Four ways to uncover your ideal MySpace friends and music business contacts
• Top tips for sending and receiving friend requests
• The "Smart Way" and the "Dumb Way" to leave comments
• Three things you need to know about sending and receiving MySpace messages

• Why you need to post Bulletins and add your Upcoming Shows to the calendar — and how to do it effectively
• Advice on posting killer content to your blog and joining MySpace groups
• Why you should create your own MySpace group to attract fans like magnets
• The best ideas on working the Forums and posting in the free Classifieds section
• More hot tips on uploading your videos, scouring the MySpace Music Directory, and using Music Search

Video Directors 2

This is a list of notable music video directors whose body of work has been considered exceptional. Here are some examples of their videos...i tried to get a range of genres and artists:

• Chris Applebaum

Natasha Beddingfield, Unwritten:

The Pussycat Dolls, I Don't Need A Man:

Rihanna, Umbrella:

• Steve Barron

Micheal Jackson, Billie Jean:

• Samuel Bayer

Green Day, St Jimmy:

Pink, Who Knew:

My Chemical romance, Black Parade:

• Dion Beebe
• Burning Vision


• Marty Callner


• Mariah Carey


• Peter Christopherson


• Roman Coppola

Coppola has also directed clips for artists including Green Day, Fatboy Slim, The Strokes, Phoenix, Daft Punk, The Vines, God Lives Underwater, and Wyclef Jean.

• Anton Corbijn

Metallica, Mama Said:

• Chris Cunningham


• Patrick Daughters

Snow Patrol, Hands Open:

• Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris


• Brian Philip Davis


• Nigel Dick

The artists and bands Dick has directed to date include Oasis, The Backstreet Boys, Toni Braxton, Good Charlotte, Green Day, Il Divo, Elton John, Ricky Martin, Paul McCartney, Amy Lee, Tina Turner, Celine Dion, R.E.M., Gloria Estefan, NSync, Pussycat Dolls, and Ozzy Osbourne.

• Fred Durst


• David Fincher

Fincher directed big budget music videos for artists such as Madonna (including "Express Yourself", "Vogue" "Oh Father" and "Bad Girl"), Billy Idol ("Cradle of Love"), Jody Watley, Rick Springfield, Steve Winwood, George Michael, Michael Jackson, Aerosmith, Paula Abdul, the Rolling Stones (including "Love Is Strong"), Nine Inch Nails ("Only"), the Wallflowers, The Outfield and A Perfect Circle

Madonna, Express Yourself:

• Andrea Giacobbe


• Jonathan Glazer


• Michel Gondry

Wyclef Jean, another One Bites The dust:

• Godley & Creme

Sting, If You Love Somebody Set Them Free:

• Lasse Hallström


• Sanaa Hamri


• Rob Heydon


• Paul Hunter

TLC, Unpretty:



Britney Spears and Madonna, Me Against The Music:

• Ian Inaba

Eminem, Mosh:

• Spike Jonze

R.E.M, Crush With Eyeliner:

Ludacris, Get Back:

• John Jopson


• Joseph Kahn

BackStreet Boys, Everybody:

Brandy & Monica, The Boy Is Mine:

• Ray Kay

Destiny's Child ft T.I. & Lil Wayne, Soldier:

• Tony Kaye


• Marc Klasfeld

N Sync, Girlfriend:

Bon Jovi, Misunderstood:

Avril Lavigne, When You're Gone:

• David LaChapelle

No Doubt, It's My Life:

Britney Spears, Everytime:

Amy Winehouse, Tears Dry On Their Own:

• Francis Lawrence

Will Smith, Black Suits Comin' (Nod Ya Head):

• Diane Martel

Omarion, Touch:

Christina Aguilera, Genie in a Bottle:

• Leah Meyerhoff


• Dave Meyers


• Chris Milk

Kanye West, Jesus Walks:

• McG


• Mike Mills


• Sophie Muller

Annie Lennox, Keep Young and Beautiful:

No Doubt, Don't Speak:

Lily Allen, Smile:

• Jake Nava

Big Brovaz, OK:

Natasha Bedingfield, Single:

Beyoncé & Shakira, Beautiful Liar:

• Marcus Nispel


• Tommy Pallotta


• Mark Pellington

The Fray, How To Save a Life:

• P.R. Brown

MeatLoaf, Cry Over Me:

• Tim Pope

The Cure, Boys Don’t Cry:

• Brett Ratner

P Diddy, Diddy:

Mariah Carey, We Belong Together:

• Herb Ritts

N Sync, Gone:

• Chris Robinson

JoJo, Too Little Too Late:

Boys II Men, Color of Love:

• Matthew Rolston

Eternal, Just A Step From Heaven:

Destiny's Child, Bootylicious:

• Mark Romanek

Coldplay, Speed of Sound:

• Zbigniew Rybczynski
  
• Jake Scott


• Stéphane Sednaoui


• Dawn Shadforth


• Shynola


• Marcos Siega


• Floria Sigismondi

Christina Aguilera, Hurt:

• Wataru Takeishi

Takeishi has created videos for Japanese superstars such as Ayumi Hamasaki and Every Little Thing

• Julien Temple


• Patric Ullaeus


• Marc Webb

O-Town-These Are The Days:

My Chemical Romance, I'm Not Okay (I Promise):

• Hype Williams

Aaliyah, Rock The Boat:

Hoobastank, If I Were You:

Kanye West, Stronger:

• Bille Woodruff


• Little X


• Adam Yauch


• Jonas Åkerlund

Christina Aguilera, Beautiful:

Video Directors

I’ve found that no artist uses just one music director for all of their videos, no matter how successful the videos may be. This is mainly because in each video there are different meanings or preferred looks therefore they may require a different style. Here are a few examples:

Justin Timberlake
· LoveStoned: Robert Hales
· SexyBack: Michael Haussman
· Cry Me A Rover: Francis Lawrence

Nickelback
· Photograph: Nigel Dick
· Saving Me: Nigel Dick
· Far Away: Nigel Dick
· If Everyone Cared: Dori Oskowitz

Eminem
· Cleaning Out My Closet: Philip G Atwell
· Stan: Philip G Atwell
· Guilty Cconscience: Philip G Atwell
· Without Me: Joseph Kahn
· Mosh: Ian Inaba

Beyonce
· Crazy in Love: Jake Neva
· Baby Boy: Jake Neva
· Naughty Girl: Jake Neva
· Me Myself and I: Johan Renck
· Ring the Alarm: Sophie Muller

Fall Out Boy
· Thnks Fr Th Mmrs: Alan Ferguson
· Sugar, We're Goin' Down: Matt Lenski
· This Aint A Scene, It's an Arms Race: Alan Ferguson

In cases such as Linkin Park with such a creative group of people it is possible for some of the band members to either solely or help direct the music videos. For example What I've Done was directed by Joe Hahn who has also directed videos for others such as Static-X, Story of the Year, Xzibit, X-ecutioners and Alkaline Trio.

Well Known British Music Video Director

Dawn Shadforth is a British music video and documentary director. Shadforth is one of the foremost directors in her field and has directed and edited promotional music videos for artists such as Kylie Minogue, Oasis, Goldfrapp, Sugababes and Garbage. She has received several awards including Best New Director at The Creative Design Awards, Best Special Effects for Garbage’s "Special" at the MTV Video Music Awards and Visionary Video at the VH1 Awards. An exhibition of her work has recently been featured at the Creative Futures show. Her work is well known for its tightly choreographed performances and for liberating the movement of dancers rather than containing it.

In 1996 she was asked by a Mantronix band member to direct the music video for their underground hit "Hush" in New York. In 1997 Shadforth moved to London, England to work full time as a music video director. In London her work quickly received public and industry recognition. Her music video for the All Seeing I single "Beat Goes On" won for Best Dance Video at the 1998 Muzik Video Awards and for Best Editing at the 1999 Creative Design Awards. In June 1998 she signed to Black Dog/RSA Films, a music video production company based in England.

Shadforth edits all her own work, which is rare in the music video business. "I've always done it, right from the word go," she explains. "I find it impossible to communicate to somebody--it's just something that doesn't go through your conscious thoughts and, because it's music, it's different from cutting a story. When I have an idea, it's motivated by editing." Shadforth feels that the use of an editor will limit her creative ideas and just complicates the directorial process.

In 2001 Shadforth made her directing breakthrough with the Kylie Minogue video, "Can't Get You Out Of My Head". The video features Minogue in a computer generated futuristic city, arriving in a space-age car, seductively and rhythmically shifting the gearstick as she drives, before eventually dancing in a clipped pulsating style in front of a group of male dancers all wearing bizarre red plastic headgear. The video is well known for its tight choreography as well as for featuring Minogue in a deceptively revealing white costume with a plunging neckline and wide open front. The video was quickly picked up by many music video channels and is credited with making the song a number one hit worldwide. The exposure from the video quickly made Shadforth a "must have" director, and the film has been widely mimicked and parodied.

She also directed the award-winning promo film for "The Importance of Being Idle", the acclaimed second single from 2005's comeback album by Oasis, Don't Believe the Truth. The film was a clever pastiche of 1960's black and white kitchen-sink drama films, featuring a parade of high-kicking undertakers, led by the Welsh actor Rhys Ifans. (The name of the undertaking firm featured in the video is 'Shadforth and Sons'). The band themselves praised the video, and it was said by critics at the time to be the best video Oasis had ever made. It went on to win the award for Best Video of 2005 at the NME Awards in early 2006, and the song itself went to Number 1.

Videography

"Number 1" - Goldfrapp (2005)
"The Importance of Being Idle" - Oasis (2005)
"Ooh La La" - Goldfrapp (2005)
"French Kisses" - Jentina (2004)
"Chocolate" - Kylie Minogue (2004)
"Who Is It" - Björk (2004)
"Train" - Goldfrapp (2003)
"Miss Lucifer" - Primal Scream (2002)
"In Your Eyes" - Kylie Minogue (2002)
"Can't Get You Out Of My Head" - Kylie Minogue (2001)
"Weak Become Heroes" - The Streets (2002)
"Spinning Around" - Kylie Minogue (2000)
"Bag It Up" - Geri Halliwell (2000)
"King For A Day" - Jamiroquai (1999)
"What'Cha Gonna Do" - Eternal (1999)
"Sing It Back" - Moloko (1999)
"Special" - Garbage (1998)
"Beat Goes On" - All Seeing I (1998)
"Lights" - Scissor Sisters