Webinar #3 Social Media and Virtual

WorldsPresented by Jay Moonah

BOOTSTRAP MUSIC SERIES

Summer 2007

What's going on here? I'm

so bulgy.

Online Promotion and Marketing CourseYour Web Presence: 7/11/07, 7:30pmBlog Postings: 7/11/07-7/20/07

Online Digital and CD Sales: 7/24/07, 7:30pm Blog Postings: 7/24/07-8/3/07

Social Media and Virtual Worlds: 8/7/07, 7:30pmBlog Postings: 8/7/07-8/17/07

Made possible by a grant grant from The New York State Music Fund ("The Fund")

Conference Logistics

• You can mute your phone with *6

• You can unmute your phone with *7

• If you have a question, type it into the chat

• Questions will be answered throughout the Webinar at various points

First of all…

• … any questions from last session?

???

Myspace – The Good

• Some bands have had amazing success using myspace

• Super-easy to set-up initially, just about anyone can do it

• Still has HUGE numbers even though it has lost a bit of ground to Facebook

Myspace – The Bad

• Adding friends and other activities time consuming

• Site is often slow or down

• Just ‘cus you have 6000 “friends” doesn’t mean they really like you!

Myspace – The Ugly

• ‘Nuff said

Facebook

• Facebook– Similar to myspace, more oriented on

“friends” than music– You can set-up a group as a “fan club”– Events are much easier to set-up and

promote than myspace

Favourite Music in Facebook

• Add yourself to your “Favourite Music” on Facebook

• Encourage others to do the same

iLike on Facebook

• Facebook doesn’t have music play built into the system, BUT…

• The “iLike” music application is one of the most popular on Facebook

• On your profile page, click “Edit” beside applications and then “Browse More”

GarageBand.com & iLike

• To get listed in iLike on Facebook:– Create a profile on GarageBand.com– Download the iLike plugin for iTunes– Play some of your music in iTunes

• For more details, go to http://www.ilike.com/ and check out the “For musicians” link at the bottom of the page

Additional sites

• Virb– A bit like Facebook, but more focused on

entertainment content such as music– www.virb.com

• last.fm– Tracks everything the users plays, creates

“neighborhoods” based on similar preferences– www.last.fm

Also..• Look for online communities that support

the kind of music you are promoting

• Look for local sites with community forums– In Canada, the forums on

http://www.stillepost.ca/ are very active

• Find out where the fans of the genre hang out online, make yourself part of the community

Creating an Artist Blog

• A great way to connect with fans

• Regular, shorter entries better than occasional long ones

• Entries from band members preferable to managers, roadies, etc.– but having BOTH is great!

• Try to integrate with existing site rather than a separate site

Review Blogs

• Find ones that are appropriate to the bands you are working with

• ALWAYS take reviews and comments with a grain of salt

What’s a Podcast?Blog

(with RSS feed)+

MP3s (or other media file)

=Podcast!

A rough translation from the original Geek:An audio feed anyone can subscribe to through iTunes or other software that downloads each new episode automatically when comes out

Get on Podcasts!

• Get music on the Podsafe Music Network– music.podshow.com

• Like review blogs, look for ones that are appropriate– Check out

podcastpickle.com

• Dave Jackson’s free guide at promotingwithpodcasting.com

Creating your own podcast?

• Great, BUT:– It’s lots of work– It does require some technical knowledge,

especially to set-up at first– It’s not for everyone

• Bands or labels could join together and share the effort

Internet Radio

• Different than podcast because it usually a live stream as opposed to a download

• Live365.com probably the best known site

• Like podcasts, best bet is to find stations that play your style and promote to them directly

Video

• Posting videos on YouTube and similar sites a great way to promote

• Doesn’t have to be a $100,000 music video

Live from Your Basement!

• Virtual concerts from anywhere via streaming audio, video or even virtual worlds such as Second Life

• Advanced stuff, but could be the wave of the future…

Final Thoughts

• Be selective & understand what you’re doing!– Work on the things

that make sense for the kind of music you’re promoting and your skills

– Don’t bite off more than you can chew!

Lisa: Wow, Dad, you're surfing like a pro!Homer: Oh, yeah! I'm betting on Jai-alai in the Cayman Islands, I invested in something called "News Corp"...Lisa: Dad, that's Fox!Homer: Aaah! Undo! Undo!

Thanks!