Hey guys, I just wanted some opinions as to what actually works for marketing musicians and bands. Obviously you can build local hype, and then try to get your music out on social networking sites, invite friends, post places, etc. I was just wondering if there are any 'tips' and 'tricks' that the average musician doesn't know about? Ways to make you get more legit traffic, more friends, facebook fans, song plays, etc. Thanks guys! -VcL
What genre are you in? Do a cover of something extremely popular right now (Gaga, chris brown, etc, etc) and post it on youtube and hope you go viral. Framing Hanley did something similar with Lollipop by Lil' Wayne. More recently, Pinn Pannelle did it when they covered Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites by Skrillex (which is sick for all of you who like musicianship + dubstep). It went viral and they got nearly 2 million youtube hits which I am sure converted to quite a few new fans. Tons of people search for "________ cover" so if you're a top result for "Bad Romance cover" and you actually sound kick ass, I'm sure it would translate to more fans. Or I could be totally wrong, you end up wasting time and get no fans.
I would not be afraid to use social media - YouTube, Fb, twitter. All of these are strong marketing tools that are able to help you move. FB provides really good targeting of ads. You can show your advertisement to people that listen to same genre or similar band for very low money. Once when the band is to be known to great amount of people you can bet on word of mouth. Best way how to promote yourself with very small investments.
I'd have to agree with YouTube. That's where I find most of the new Indie bands I listen to. If you can get an already popular Youtuber to like your video or even promote it for you it could be a big step. Making a very eye catching video people want to share can make you viral. I've have also found a lot of people by the cover songs they do. Mike Tompkins for example did some sweet acapella versions of hit songs that went viral.