Ignore The Hype

In the interest of taking a look at what young artists face as they prepare to learn how to improve their fortunes and begin their music career, I thought I'd examine the first step most people would take when approaching a new endeavor: Internet research. So I pulled up a random Google search for "music promotion help" and took at look at both the top sponsored link and the top search result. How helpful would they be? How appropriate would the advice be for a young aspiring musician?

The first paid result was for "Brand in 60 Seconds" via www.brandin60seconds.com. This site was for a PR business who wanted to help companies create a better brand, and thus wasn't what a young musician would have in mind when looking for help. So I went to the next choice, which was "Publish you CD/DVD at no cost to you" via www.kunaki.com.

This was more like it! If I'm a young band, I totally want to produce CDs for free. I didn't do any research into the company's track record, but their offerings appeared to be perfect for a young musician. You can buy any quantity of CDs prepped via their software at $1.60 a disc. That's certainly not the cheapest you'll find, but for a new artist tracking down resources and looking for an easy solution, it's a great start.

But what about the "publish at no cost to you" promise? Well, that looks legit, as well. Kunaki provides a digital storefront, which you can link to from your band's website, and they will create the CDs on-demand. You, as the artist, don't pay for anything up front. The cost is steep, however--a $3.00 handling fee. On the other hand, having an online storefront with actual inventory available at no up-front cost would be the ideal solution for a starving musician getting his or her career off the ground.

So, the second paid Google result for "music promotion help" was helpful, but didn't really address the core need: Help with music promotion.

The first actual search result was for a site entitled, appropriately enough, "Music Business Help" via www.indiebiz.com. Now that sounds like exactly what we would need as a new recording artist looking for advice. Unfortunately, as you enter the site, you get a litany of highlighted, underlined, bolded, and italicized promises that look like this:

I will personally show you... What smart musicians do to make $40.00 per CD... (yes, you read that right!)

Don't believe this guy? Well, he's not afraid to let you know that he's the man. He says up front that he is the "'Secret Weapon' labels like MCA, Interscope, Sony, and Capitol hire when they need music marketing that gets results!" Having lots of friends in major labels, I can assure you that this guy is no one's "secret weapon." I can also state that you should be especially wary of sites that are low on actual practical advice and high on hype and bullshit.

And let me tell you: Half his promises are meaningless bullshit. Who cares if a label intern calls you back? Should we get excited about earning $40 in non-traditional revenue for each CD if you sell 5 CDs to your family and friends? What young artists need is concrete, practical, and actionable help. Not a bunch of empty promises.

What can I say? The first result for music promotion help on Google presents you with a worthless site promoting some huckster trying to pawn off his hype as a service to help independent musicians. And that, my friends, is why I launched this blog. There's too much hype and not enough help out there.