Hi, I have just launched a unique site, allowing bands and musicians to advertise where and when they'll be playing live music. It's something that a lot of bands would find pretty useful. So, what I need to do is find as many bands as I can, show them how the site works, and hope that they use it. I'm not afraid of spending a bit of cash to do this, although I'd obviously be looking for the most cost effective methods possible. Thanks for your help
... what's your question? Is there one? Obviously MySpace, PureVolume, etc are good places to start if you want to contact bands.
My question is, what would be the most efficient and cost-effective ways of contacting bands specifically I'm trying out friend adders, but I'd also like to try methods that would be less 'spammy' (even though friend adding isn't really spammy in this case)
I've marketed to bands effectively on Myspace (but I'd never use adder software - that's spam, and you can piss off bands just like you can piss off anyone else). Building a relationship with them is what works best - I don't think there's a better group for getting the word to spread virally - they all seem to know each other. If a few key bands like what you're offering, it can catch on. So target.
I'd say you can try many of the public/social sites such as facebook/myspace, etc. Then you can try things like Google Adwords, etc, but that can get pricy. Good luck!
That's actually a good idea... look beyond the artists. You might have more luck getting venues to advertise all of their shows regularly than having individual artists do it. Look at it this way too - fewer people to physically target, and bands could stumble across the site if they find themselves listed there via search, helping it to spread more virally to the band level.
I'm starting something similar really soon, not exactly how you explained yours though. I think a good way to do is to go to a site like soundclick.com and make friends and tell them about it. Also places like imeem.com and myspace.com. I'm creating a good wait list from just making friends on those sites. You can also tell people in your city/town about your site. Theres a lot of musicians but not all of them perform live. Some people perform at small gatherings and that type of thing also. Sounds like you have a good plan! Good luck, Hope it works out for you
I'd have to say personal networking thru facebook and myspace are the best options. And some interested people running any music sites would also have close ties with bands.
You could also contact bands through e-mail from their web sites. Try to make it friendly, not spammy. "Hey so n so, I'm contacting you through your site...."