Download “The Pursuit” for free on viinyl and listen to the score for IBM’s Lenovo Yoga ultrabook advert directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale & GoldenEye, Green Lantern).

aeph-thepursuit.viinyl.com

Who’s behind this great track?

Happy New Year to everyone!

We are kicking off the New Year with some great news.

Suede, the British alternative rock band, announced a brand new album, Bloodsports, due out in March after a 10 year hiatus. Their first single ‘Barriers‘ is out on viinyl. You can download it for FREE here:

suedebarriers.viinyl.com

We are thrilled that Suede premiered its first single off the new album, Bloodsports, exclusively at viinyl.com.

The song ‘Barriers‘ was the talk of the day on blogs such as The Guardian, Pitchfork, Stereogum, etc., and on social networks.

What a great way to start the new year.

The viinyl team

We remember the long and pointless Flash intros taking minutes to load with our low bandwidth connection (if you’re over 20, you know what I’m talking about). Our collective unconscious then decided to put an end to this step in order to arrive directly to the website.

In those days, an official site was the place to learn about an artist, stumble upon a piece of news, look at photos, consult the dates of shows and, if you were lucky, listen to extracts from songs and watch video clips. But, since a wide range of online services now replace these functions quite well; the site of an artist has had to redefine itself.

Today, the official site must adapt itself to the way in which the public consumes new content on social networks. If you are in the midst of the promotion of a new single or video, this is what should be reflected in the intro when you arrive at your site. During these weeks, this single/video will be your flagship product; the content which you want the public to share and speak about during this specific period. Why hide it by only putting it in a blog post or somewhere in your Music/Video section or a part that visitors will never make it to?

This intro page not only serves as an entrance for visitors to your official site, but as a micro-site to direct fans to social networks.

You may see this type of message from your fans on Facebook and Twitter:

Watch the new Metric video [ilovemetric.com] / The new Metric single is awesome [ilovemetric.com]

But rarely will you see this type of message:

The Metric’s website is great. [ilovemetric.com]  / I love Metric. [ilovemetric.com] 

And if this type of message is ever published, the followers will have little or no interest in clicking the link.

We share content, not an online presence. This is why the content that you want the public to see and share at this precise moment should be clear and evident in your online presence (official site, the welcome tab of your Facebook page, blog, etc.).

If 1000 visitors have come to visit your official site last week and another 500, your Facebook page, that’s about 1500 people who are going to be able to share and make your new material or content known to their Twitter followers and Facebook friends.

Simplify your task with viinyl

If before you had to wait for the launch of a new album to get major changes on your site, you can now, in a short time and without difficulty, display a new intro on your official site for each new single/video releases.

- Create your page with viinyl >>

- Head over to the Announcement section in your admin panel. Write a text suggesting visitors to continue to your official website, then add your website link over your text (ex: http://artist.com/news).

- Associate the URL of your viinyl with your domain name (ex: http://artist.com).

And there you have it!

Surrounded by sharing tools and even an incentive to share (the Share to download option), you may obtain even more exposure with viinyl.

If you want to use this content to develop your mailing list, use the “Download for email” option.

The US based band, Standing Shadows, recently had the opportunity to have their song “Struggle Of Our Lives” appear on the popular US TV show 90210.  Kudos to the Riptide Music team for the song placement opportunity, however extra kudos to the band as well as their team to have had the foresight to promote the song before, during and after the show.

Some Advice

Will your song will be used on a popular TV show like Grey’s Anatomy, True Blood, The Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars, 90210, CSI or Private Practice?

If so, make sure to take advantage of the online buzz that will be generated around the TV show by “smoothly” infiltrating the conversation and posting news about it on Twitter.  Using the show’s hashtag (ex: #GreysAnatomy), post a tweet, include the link to your viinyl as well as an update on when your song will be played, or is playing, or has just played.  Don’t miss the second round of Tweets that usually follow the West Coast airing of the show some 3 hours later.  Just make sure not to spam the conversation; if anything make variations of your messages.  Also, do not  write directly to the fans of the show and make sure not to repeatedly tweet your viinyl link.

You should also leave a small comment with a link to your viinyl soon after your song has been aired on the GetGlue page of the TV show.

Of course don’t forget to publish this great news to your fans on Facebook the day of the show.  They will most probably spread the news and your link, specially if you decide to give away a free download of the song to celebrate this great news.  The “Share to download“ option could also be a great way to gain some viral exposure to help spread the word.

You can even go as far as creating an advertising on Facebook targeting the fans of the TV show. ex: Get your free download of  “Struggle Of Our Lives” as aired on the last episode of 90210.

Deer Tick launched their single “Miss K” via viinyl, using our Tweet/Post to download option.

See the results of the first 24 hours of tweets…

viinyl offer the following three download options, specifically suited to your needs:

A – Tweet/post to download

Some fans will instinctively share your new material, whilst others might not think to do so, or perhaps will not take the time to do so.  With this option, anyone who likes your song enough to download it will automatically share it with friends and followers – a perfect trade which works in harmony with Web 2.0 trends and the challenges faced by todays artists who are trying to stand out.

Using this option, the promotion of your new material can be placed directly into the hands of your fans; a good song will spread like wildfire. On average, with every download, your viinyl is destined to reach 126 followers on Twitter and 130 friends on Facebook.  The payback in terms of exposure is worth way more than the amount generated from straight sales – provided you had decided to sell that is – and that’s with zero spend on advertising.

ex: Ali Milner – I Dare You 

→ Perfect for launching new music (single from an album release, remix, special collaboration, etc.)

Watch how viinyl’s “Share to download” option helps Deer Tick launch their single Miss K.

B – Download for email

A sure-fire way to guarantee contact with fans for years to come is to obtain their email address.  Facebook, Twitter and Google+, occupy the top spot right now, however who knows where they are heading, or what rules they might impose down the line?  Look at Myspace…   That’s why we recommend that you take advantage of this option with existing fans on Facebook, Twitter and Google+, as well as with your blog, official website, YouTube and myspace visitors.

If you are making your debut, and focusing on gaining visibility, we recommend that you distribute your song without this restriction. You would do well to use the “Tweet/Post to download” option, giving you the benefit of exposure, whilst expanding your fan base.  You could then effectively go on to use the “Download for email” option for data gathering (email) from your Twitter followers and Facebook Likers.  Your fans would now be more likely to divulge their email address to you and, with their interest in you already firmly established, your database would become more valuable. You could be sure that your email wouldn’t be left to languish in their inbox amongst a blend of unknown artists.

Ex: Ali Milner – Crystal Clear

→ Perfect for distributing a song as a gift to your fans (unedited version, acoustic version, demo)

C – Direct download

A straightforward, unrestricted way to offer your music.

Ex: Sarah W. Papsun – Bye Bye Teacher

→ Perfect for a song that you advertise or present to bloggers.

Try viinyl for free »

1. Background

You have three possible choices to properly position the background image you plan on using for your viinyl.  One of these options is sure to fit nicely with the image that you have chosen.

- Classic

The original dimensions of the image will remain and will, by default, be positioned in the center of the page.  The image can also be repeated landscape, portrait or in sequence either way.

→ Ideal when using a small image to be situated centre page.

No repeat

Repeat horizontally                                                      Repeat vertically

Repeat

The down side: the appearance of a large image will vary depending on screen size.  Part of the image may be cut off on a smaller screen, while the chosen background color will show around the image when viewing the vinyl on a larger screen.

- Fit

The image dimensions are resized according to screen size, and will be fully visible.

→ Ideal for an image where you do not want to loose any of the details around the borders of the image. The down side: on screens, which are either too large or small in size, vertical or horizontal lines will appear, which aren’t great aesthetically.

- Fill

The image dimensions are cropped according to screen size and re-framed to fill the entire page.

→ Ideal for most landscape images that have an adequate pixel rating (around 1440 x 900 or 1680 x 1050 pixels). The down side: on screens, which are larger than the actual size of your image, the image becomes stretched, and part of the outline can be lost. Using the following method you can fix the borders of your image, ensuring that either one or two of the edges remain visible – e.g. if there is an important detail on the left side of the picture, select the left arrow, and the image will extend in the other three directions.

2. Color scheme

You can coordinate the colors in your viinyl with the background image.  Please refer to the image below, illustrating which color relates to each element.

Lightbox colors You can change the colors within the window (lightbox) containing your bio, lyrics, etc.  The Normal FONT corresponds to the color of the text and Hover, to the color of a link when the curser is held over it.  The BACKGROUND is the color of the backing of the lightbox, while the OVERLAY is a semi-transparent color around the lightbox.

AnnouncementThe announcements section is the box situated, by default, on the top left-hand corner of your viinyl.  You can use this section to announce all sorts of information ( album release, upcoming tour, awards, appearances, special mentions, etc.), some exciting news, add third party widgets or even custom made code.   You have the option to coordinate your color scheme with the background image of your viinyl; and in the same way you could achieve a transparent background effect as well. Advice:  If you choose to display an image in this section, set the “opacity to “0″; as the background behind this image will completely disappear.

3. Positioning and size of your Announcements box

You can easily optimize the positioning of your Announcements box within your viinyl page by choosing one of the 4 default positions.  As well, if the contents of your Announcement box are smaller or larger than the actual default box size (300 x 100 pixels) you can easily adjust the size using Width and Height.  For example, if your Announcements take up half of the box, you can reduce the height to 50 pixels.

If you are an unknown act, the idea of sending out a mass email (copy and paste) press release may not be the best way to proceed when attempting to gain media attention.

It’s not a question of the effectiveness of the press release, which is both a good source of information and a proven method of gaining interviews and publicity. That said, before you can hope to get any media attention, you will first need to introduce yourself and find a way to grab their attention – remember they are constantly bombarded with press releases.

1 – Putting together your press list

The first thing you need to do is compile a list of important contacts – tedious task but necessary. This can be done, for example, using an Excel worksheet:

It would also be worthwhile to classify your contacts on different sheets by country and language.

Start off by listing your local media and also locations where you will likely hold future concerts – these contacts are more likely to have an interest in you. You could also do a search using keywords (genre, style, influences, cultural movements, etc.) or look into the media attention other groups and artists in your genre have received in order to get an idea of which publications, and contacts, have covered them.

news.google.ca
blogsearch.google.com

2 – The press release

Your press release should be aimed at reporters, bloggers, critics, researchers and TV/Radio/Online hosts, and needs to focus on either providing news or announcing an event (which their readers or listeners would potentially be interested in).

You could send out a press release on the following pretexts: new album release, single release from a new album, new video, important event or special collaboration.

The angle of your press release is vital – and key to its success.  You, like thousands of others, make music and want to promote it.  However, from a media standpoint, the reporter who receives your release is looking to tell a special and, hopefully, compelling story that will engage and entertain his audience.

You need to provide this “interesting story”, special anecdotal of some sort – prompting a possible interview…

Here is a standard press release template (or at least a good example right here):

[Logo]

PRESS RELEASE

For immediate release

[Title]

Town, date [day, month, year] – [1st paragraph: news summary – address the essential questions of who, what, how and where]

[2nd paragraph: brief description of your work - mention your motivations, themes, influences, and collaborations]

[3rd paragraph: a bit of background – give some history, achievements, awards, interesting collaborations, and connections]

Further information:
[Links]

-30-

Source: [Name - Company] | [E-mail]
Contact: [Name - Company] | [Telephone] | [E-mail]

NOTE:  Highlight the key words of your press release in bold. Very few people read a press release from start to finish. Bring the reader’s attention to the main points of your text.

3 – Make it personal

- Take the time to research the person, and the media, that you plan to target.  Take a look at recent articles, tweets and blogs.  Use your knowledge to find a good angle for your (short) introduction message.  Include the link to your press release (in case they want to know more about you) and also provide a download link, offering your single or album for free.

- Put the media/publication name in the email subject box. This indicates that the email was directly intended for the recipient.

- Use the contact’s name in your message opening.

- Avoid being demanding, pushy and “desperate”.

Above all – do your best to stand out! Be yourself, be original and remain faithful to your own style.

4 - Keep your press list up-to-date

- Add new contacts as and when you come across on them on sites and blogs within your niche area.

- Set up Google alerts informing you when a particular site has featured you, and make sure to add their details to your contact list.  They will, without a doubt, be interested in receiving your new material since they already know of you.

- Sites sometimes disappear and editors change; be sure to make the necessary changes in your contacts.

BONUS

Illegal in theory, but useful in practise… MP3 blogs are an excellent means of exposing your work to music lovers across the globe.  Here are some MP3 blog aggregators, which will be useful in building your contact list.

captaincrawl.com
hypem.com
shuffler.fm
elbo.ws

These bloggers are relentlessly solicited and (rather luckily for you) this is generally done very badly: mass emails, general press releases, impersonal messages filled full of links for publicity announcements – inevitably ending up in the trash.

Put together an original message, which briefly introduces you as an artist, presents your work, your inspiration, motivation and possibly a few anecdotes. Your message should arouse the blogger’s appetite, who will then in turn go and listen to your music.

Write to them as if you were beginning a conversation, rather than delivering a sales pitch. Be sure to provide a link so that they can download your single or album for free and access visuals or bonus features.

These bloggers are highly selective about what they decide to put online.  They publish what they like – they are not trying to win friends!

- Create your banner, recommended size  960 x 250, and export the banner in a .jpg or .png  format.

- Host your banner image on a server online. You can use a free online hosting service such as imageshack.us to host your images. Simply upload your image on imageshack, and take the link associated to your image  (ex: http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/1209/banner.jpg ).

- Login your Myspace account; go to your profile page and click on the Customize button.

- On the top of the page, click on the Modules & Marquee button and then click Marquee.

- A box will appear on the screen . Select Creates a blank marquee and click on Publish.

- Paste the following code in the HTML box:
<a href="http://YOUR-LINK.com" target="_blank"> <img src="http://IMAGE-URL.jpg" /> </a>

and click on Save changes.

- Refresh your page and voilà!

The best way to go about creating your Facebook ad is explained on Facebook ad section:

> facebook.com/ads/best_practices.php
> facebook.com/ad_guidelines.php
> facebook.com/ads/mistakes.php

Tips on how to improve your ads.

1. Make a comparison

Comparing yourself to another band may seem counter-intuitive but is in fact an effective way to  promote your music. It’s much easier to imagine the sound of a new band when described as “Jack Johnson meets the electric guitar”, than to explain your music in traditional genre terms (i.e. indie, folk, rock, etc).

Not only will this allow your prospect to rapidly size you up, however it may also encourage someone to learn more about you by clicking on your ad. Overall, the best reason to use comparisons remains the fact that you will be able to target and leverage Jack Johnson’s fans on facebook which represents, in this case, over 2 million people in the United States alone. Consider this the virtual way of leveraging the popularity of a big name artist – or as we like to call it; the web 2.0 version of the “Opening band” for a big name!

Add some humour, be witty and don’t be shy. You want to intrigue and seduce your audience in order for them to click on your ad and discover more.

For example:  If Iggy pop was a women, it would be me!
- Diana Krall on Red Bull!

Just keep it honest and real. If you’re not U2, you don’t sound like U2.

2. Keep your text simple. You want to get a REACTION from them…

3. Create multiple versions fo your add to see which one generates more clicks. Also, cater to different geo target markets by creating language specific ads, or add mentions to geographical references, etc.

4. Target small and be precise. Your ad will have less competition and will cost less – more affordable CPC (cost per click).

5. According to a study by miratech.fr, if your ad has text, an image of a face and seamlessly fits within the environment (in this case Facebook) then you have a winning formula.

x Don’t use your ad to ask people to purchase your music, or anything else, right away! Instead, use this opportunity to let them sample your music, appreciate your talent and get acquainted with you.

Destination of your ad

Your ad should be directed to a simple page that has a clear objective.  If you want people to sample your song or see your latest video, then it should be the first thing they see when they arrive on your site. Make it super simple and clear  for them to find, consume and experience your content.

x Don’t use your ad to direct people towards an iTunes page.  It’s not very efficient to ask, or even expect, someone to spend $0.99 or $1.29 on an artist they don’t know or based on a 30 second sample – again take this opportunity to let them get acquainted with you.

x Don’t send people to a Facebook page or a site where you oblige them to click on “Like” in order to access your content.  Let them discover you, enjoy your music and hopefully be seduced – without any barriers.  They will naturally “Like” you afterwards.

To read: Sponsored news on Facebook (coming soon)