Not every artist needs an A+ online. But everyone needs at least a C-.
The challenge for independent artists, label managers, artist managers and anyone working with artists in online marketing is deciding where to apportion effort.
Am I doing enough online? Should I tweet? Should I blog on MySpace? Do I need my own website or is a MySpace enough? Do I need a Facebook page?
For digital music and music marketing in general to move forward, I think it’s important that some basic standards are established around an artist’s online presence. If these standards are established, music marketers can spend more time innovating and less time worrying about whether the Bebo page has enough of a photo gallery.
If we agree on a minimum standard then we can define what is exceptional and extraneous.
Native has developed an online artist report card to help structure decision-making and reduce the grey area around representing music online.It moves from the basic to the advanced and is intended for all levels of artists.
A threshold: This is the minimum requirement to pass. You need to answer ‘yes’ to questions 1-5.
1 - Is your music available for sale on iTunes?
2 - Do you have your own MySpace, with autoplay turned off, featuring your best songs?
3 - Have you embedded an iTunes buy link into your MySpace page? (You can generate iTunes links to your album here.)
4 - Do you have a document listing the email addresses of your fanbase?
5 - Do you have an application to sign up subscribers embedded in your MySpace page?
For a C, answer ‘yes’ to questions 1-10.
6 - Do you regularly (8-10 times a year as a minimum) deliver value to your fans via email? Delivering value means sending them mp3s, video content, letters from the band. Tour dates, calls to action to ‘buy my album’ and press releases do not constitute value.
7 - Do you have your own website on your own domain?
8 - Do you keep a list of online sources that mention your music?
9 - Do you have a YouTube channel to collect all video and audio content relation to you?
10 - Have you reserved your artist/band name domain on Twitter?
For a B, answer ‘yes’ to questions 1-15.
11 - Does a Google search for your band/artist name return your MySpace page, YouTube clips of your music, your Wikipedia page (where relevant) and your homepage within the first 10 results?
12 - Does your website and MySpace integrate not just buy links to iTunes, a subscription form for your email database but links to buy merchandise and tickets.
13 - Is your music for sale on iTunes, Amazon mp3, emusic and BigPond (for Australian artists).
14 - Are you aware of being talked about on music forums relating to you?
15 - Do you track analytics on your website relating to user behaviour (where people come from, where they go, how long they stay, how many pages they view, what they search to find you)?
For an A, answer ‘yes’ to questions 1-20.
16 - Does a Google image search return an image of you?
17 - Do you have an established presence across Facebook, an active engagement with the Twitter community and an up to date Last.FM page?
18 - Is the band regularly producing and distributing original content to fans via email and across the online presence: photos, text, video, out-takes, live recording, broken guitar strings, guitar picks, signed posters…
19 - Do you replicate all artist content across all your online properties including Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, your homepage et. al.
20 - Do you track and engage with all mentions of you across your Homepage, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Last.FM, on blogs and in forums?
To be the best, answer ‘yes’ to questions 1-21.
21 - Do you have your own blog on a separate domain to your main site, a forum set up dedicated to discussion around your music and a series of subsites dedicated to various campaigns around your music (remix competitions, live album giveaways, UGC-style film clip sites)?
I’m interested in feedback on this report card - what is the minimum you expect of an artist online?
{ 10 trackbacks }
{ 32 comments… read them below or add one }
Ian - Make It In Music 06.11.09 at 3:30 am
Nick
This is a phenomenal post - it covers pretty much everything that an artist should be doing online.
I’d also recommend a Fickr group and making sure that anything you’ve released for sale is filed at Gracenote.
Ian
Ed Teja 06.11.09 at 3:36 am
This is all well and good, but presupposes that it is the general public you are trying to reach (retail sales). What about business to business? What about making more time to create good art? What about actually being different, rather than following in the, probably out of date, footsteps of those that have done much of his for years already?
Atul Rana - DonkeyBox 06.11.09 at 6:24 am
Wow, this article is really an eye opener. I am glad to say our band scores somewhere around 15 out of 21 in your test so we are not doing too badly. And the other points that we missed out on are really worth covering. In fact I am beginning to think that these 21 things *are* the bare minimum things on the internet a band needs in the new online world.
Thanks for the report card, we’ll be taking a few tips from the missing marks!
Also on something related, your bandname will only pop up on the top google hits if it is a unique name. Something like The Shakes, or The Tribes etc., won’t come up. We chose our bandname by accident about 7 years ago but I am glad we chose such a unique easily googlable name.
Atul from DonkeyBox
http://www.donkeybox.co.uk
Tim Price 06.11.09 at 11:49 am
Nice one, Nick. Loved this post.
You should probably get up, because you are on the money.
Steve Iorio 06.11.09 at 12:26 pm
This is a brilliant site, I will certainly send some people to this!!! Every little bit counts, but you need to allocate your time wisely because you can to it all. I love a little focus in the morning.
Sameer 06.11.09 at 12:30 pm
this is excellent Nick. i was trying to think of how to populate a list just like this.
im very impressed with the fact you share your knowledge for all. clearly a sign of mastery.
cheers,
s.
DannyBatelic - signet mae 06.11.09 at 12:46 pm
Nick, brilliant post!
You’ve nailed it. I’m gonna print this and stick it on the fridge door!
cheers
::danny
Blake 06.11.09 at 1:25 pm
Great list, Nick. I particularly like the emphasis on tracking and analysing - definitely something that is easy to overlook in the flurry of online presence-building.
I’m curious though: “Do you have your own MySpace, with autoplay turned off, featuring your best songs?” - why the lack of autoplay?
Nick 06.11.09 at 2:20 pm
@Ian - Make It In Music - Great advice.
@Ed Teja - The list doesn’t cater at all for business to business. It is intended to allow for more time to create good art because it tells you what the bare minimum needs to be. In the same way, once you have the basic covered, you can focus on ‘being different’.
@Atul Rana - 15 out of 21 is damn good.
@Tim Price - Thanks Pricey.
@Steve Iorio - T think we all love a little focus in the morning.
@Sameer - Hope that album is ready to go! Can’t wait to hear the new tracks,
@DannyBatelic - There is no higher compliment than the fridge door. Cheers.
@Blake - Autoplay is a curse. A massive curse. Autoplay = an audio pop-up. Most people are browsing online with music on, the TV on or in a shared office. They are also using tabbed browsing. So an autoplay on a tab disrupts the natural order. If I’ve opened your page, I’ll play the music. No need for it to be forced down my throat…
Steve Harris 06.11.09 at 2:51 pm
The most important note to take is that these points (layed out in a practical and succinct fashion - lovely!) are the ‘basic standards’ to be employed by artists/labels seeking a solid online presence. Every artist should start with these tools, and work on building a unique online profile based on research on your target market. Find out as much as you can about your audience and manipulate these sites and ideas to engage fans in new and interesting ways. Be creative - versatility is the true beauty of digital music marketing.
Love your work, Nick!
Cheers,
Ian Lyons 06.11.09 at 5:52 pm
Very nice list Nick - one thing I would add is …
Do you provide high quality digital assets (and permission) for your fans to take, play with mash up, post, reuse and generally be creative with?
It’s quite amazing what fans come up with when the threat of legal action is removed.
Nick Peters 06.11.09 at 8:01 pm
Some great points on this checklist, but I’d question a couple of things:
19 - These social media tools all have different strengths and replicating content is not necessarily the way to go - I’m not saying you need to force everything through the artist’s own site but if I can get everything via twitter or Facebook, why would I sign up to the band’s own mailing list for the real fan exclusives?
21 - I’d agree that an up to date blog is a good idea, not sure why it needs to live on a separate domain to the main artist site - won’t you end up diluting your link equity this way?
I’d also say ALL artists should have a Wikipedia page - if you’ve got your own site, it’s more important than a MySpace page - it’ll nearly always rank higher than your MySpace as well.
And if Spotify ever launches the free service in Australia, you’d want to get your music on there asap too.
Nick 06.11.09 at 10:14 pm
Some great advice in the comments worthy of update:
Update #1: Ian left a great comment recommending starting a Flickr group and making sure that anything you’ve released for sale is filed at Gracenote.
Update #2: Great insight from Ian Lyons - “provide high quality digital assets (and permission) for your fans to take, play with mash up, post, reuse and generally be creative with”.
Update #3: Steve Harris: “Every artist should start with these tools, and work on building a unique online profile based on research on your target market. Find out as much as you can about your audience and manipulate these sites and ideas to engage fans in new and interesting ways.”
Nick 06.11.09 at 10:17 pm
@Nick Peters
“Replicating content is not necessarily the way to go - I’m not saying you need to force everything through the artist’s own site but if I can get everything via twitter or Facebook, why would I sign up to the band’s own mailing list for the real fan exclusives?”
Great point. Very important to mix it up. Nothing worse than being hit by the same message on Twitter and Facebook in the same sitting.
As a matter of principle, any site worth its salt has a separate domain. I’m sure many people will disagree, but I hate artistname.com/blog and much prefer artistnameblog.com URLs.
“I’d also say ALL artists should have a Wikipedia page”
Agreed. But not all artists deserve or justify a Wikipedia page.
Riffioso 06.12.09 at 1:32 am
I got 19 points.
I realised i didn’t have any tags on my photos so all you get for’ Kasha’ is bowls of cereal lol
Also we don’t have any merch yet but i quite like the look of those deluxe packages.
I remember trying a wiki page last year but it got thrown off. I put a reference up the other day and it stuck so i’ll see if i can get away with adding some more info.
I think things would be easier if our name wasn’t a popular national food.
Luke Wallace 06.15.09 at 2:17 pm
Great list!
But would like to see a point towards selling merch online.
No matter how mazing your marketing campaign is, and if you’re aware of most conversations going on about you, the harsh reality is, half your audience will download the music for free.
Carter Smith 06.17.09 at 3:14 pm
Bravo Nick.
Helen Austin 06.18.09 at 4:28 am
I love this!
It really made me look at a few things I had let slip and got me focused on what I need to do.
Jackson 06.18.09 at 7:54 am
I would add one thing in here somewhere–Last FM, iTunes, etc. for sure, but what about Pandora?
modernsextrash 06.18.09 at 8:00 am
it should all look something like this
Janet Hansen 06.19.09 at 3:18 am
This list represents all the relevant elements for this moment in time. This is quite a list. From a marketing point of view, this list makes it appear as if every recording artist is a product on the grocer’s shelf. Therefore, making oneself blend in with all the other flavors of “yogurt” or “ice cream” doesn’t make the consumer’s decision any easier. In fact, then the question becomes a matter of price. Since everything is now free, we have to reevaluate how companies that distribute yogurt and ice cream keep things interesting for the consumer. They certainly aren’t giving it away! But they provide samples once in a while.
What about looking a a demographic that never gets any attention paid to it? What about the largest sector of the US population that collectively has the most money at its disposal? What about creating music that makes them nostalgic for their youth? If I had an audience of 78 million people with 2.5 trillion dollars at their disposal, I’d bet talking to them about what they think of my music.
Janet Hansen
Scout66.com
Paula Benson 06.19.09 at 4:08 am
This is great. I have to make a few changes. Always need information to update and increase awareness about Paula.
Chris Fullam (Conflict In The Sky) 06.19.09 at 6:17 am
While I agree this is a good list for having an Internet presence, I disagree this has much in terms of drawing attention to your band. I was kind of expecting ways to get new fans. You could have all of these things, but if no one is listening or going to your sites, who cares?
Andrew McMillen 06.19.09 at 11:30 am
Chris Fulham - if no one knows that you exist, you’ve got more time to work on your music and succeed. If you’re good enough, people will discover you. Read this.
Great article, Nick. I’d questioned the value of being on iTunes for a long while, but the lack of argument here has convinced me that it’s worth investigating.
Sam Whiteman 06.22.09 at 10:20 am
Great post Nick, and even better that the comments are flowing with feedback.
My only point to add would be in relation to the fanbase, great that you’ve got email addresses and channels where they can interact (one way and two) but the key is to segment the fans down as much as you can.
Why? You’ll know who to reward first when doing ‘money can’t buy’ promotions and exclusives. Why shouldn’t your first 10 Facebook fans get access to your EP first? They’ll appreciate it more AND they’ll use whatever megaphone they have to talk about it more.
Just a thought.
Sam
Jim 06.22.09 at 4:18 pm
My only comment is that Facebook should be in the C section, its really easy and almost as mandatory as myspace. Seriously, facebook is the most important way to promote music right now as an indie artist.
Brent Wallace 06.22.09 at 8:36 pm
Hey Nick,
Excellent list and pretty interesting read.
Brent
Arturo 06.24.09 at 9:01 am
Nice, extensive list Nick. Well thought out. One thing I think missed in the discussion is the production and management of the content. If you’re a recording artist you should probably have your head down in the dirt writing music. Not checking your tweets. And if you have the money to pay for a social media / content manager you’re more than likely being funded by a label (and you’re talking through a Ghost Twitterer). Is logging in at the end of the day enough to keep up with the discussion? Twitter moves at the speed of sound. Then again as a recording artist do you really need to be right up in it? Finding content, aside from the actual recordings themselves, can be really tough some times. And if all you have is a record it can make for a very drab offering.
Oh and Tumblr is also something to think about - The Grates are using it really effectively. Muxtape is back too.
David W. King 06.26.09 at 1:31 am
One question: In light of the reductions that Myspace has made in its domestic workforce (40%) and its recently announced international workforce (66%), is it a good idea to give so much emphasis to your presence on Myspace? These reductions were made on the heels of Myspace being surpassed by Facebook. Apparently Myspace had the opportunity to respond to the very people it served, but ignored the things that could have helped it retain market share. Now with this reduction in employees, can it realistically be expected to implement these changes and surge ahead?
Phoenixbird 07.02.09 at 8:05 am
Great post! This nicely lays out a kind of roadmap of things to look into when working on building a reputation for your music or other creative work. I intend to follow through by doing some of the things on this list that I’ve yet to do, and will surely share this with others. Thanks for putting in the effort required to place such a substantial amount of really important advice in front of us readers. Peace.
Nick 07.14.09 at 11:33 am
@Riffioso - 19 points is really good.
@Luke Wallace - Agreed. Merch online is crucial.
@Carter Smith - Thanks.
@Helen Austin - Great to hear Helen.
@Jackson - I don’t think Pandora is essential I gues…
@Janet Hansen - Agreed, but I was creating this list to cover the widest possible spread of bands.
@Paula Benson - Nice one Paula.
@Chris Fullam - Fair enough Chris. I guess I was assuming that this would be for bands who had a fanbase.
@Andrew McMillen - iTunes is the digital music business. Can’t ignore it.
@Sam Whiteman - Spot on. Segmentation is vital.
@Jim - Hey Jim, I just see facebook as an inferior music marketing tool.
@Brent Wallace - Cheers
@Arturo - Totally 100% agree. It’s hard to put that into a blog post though. I assume in writing that the artist is ooking after the most important element ie songs. I just help with the bits on the edge.
@David W. King - In short, yes.
@Phoenixbird - My pleasure. Thanks for your comment.
Chris 09.15.09 at 8:23 am
This is a great start to a complete list of what indie bands can do for themselves in the overall goal of reaching more fans. Remember, the main goal is not always to get signed by a major label, and guides like this will help allocate time and resources.
That said, it still takes up about 20 good hours a week to manage all of these sites, time that could be spent perfecting the craft of songwriting. More and more, we will see companies pop up to help the artist focus on art instead of marketing. Sure, it is something most small-time bands can accomplish (more-or-less) themselves, but it will take a team of dedicated doers to really allow bands the full time necessary to continually produce quality tracks worth promoting!