By DaFunkDocta2004
Tue Sep 14, 2004 2:58 pm
ONLINE MARKETING: Math or Myth?
Making money from music online:
NARIP and Hype Council help the record industry
face facts and expose fiction.
Reported by Scott G
Scott Meldrum is a musician with a dry wit and a background in bulk mail. Oops, excuse me, direct response advertising. He's also the man frequently called on by major labels when they want to brand an artist and reach millions of fans via the Internet.
Since its first successful campaign with DreamWorks artist Papa Roach in 1998 and continuing with platinum-selling artists like Avril Lavigne, Dido and Jennifer Lopez, Meldrum's firm, Hype Council, has become one of the prime marketing weapons employed by the world's largest entertainment conglomerates.
Taking center stage for recent presentation sponsored by the National Association of Record Industry Professionals (NARIP) at the Beverly Garland Hotel in Los Angeles, Meldrum began with some facts about the Internet. Does that sound a bit dull? It wasn't. His presentation quickly revealed things about the 'Net that should be known by every marketer (that's you, if you or your artists sell music online).
THE GLOBAL AUDIENCE FOR MUSIC.
Most Internet users (nearly a majority) are between the ages of 30 and 49, far older than many in the audience thought. And for those of us who thought that the USA had the highest percentage of Internet users, it was a surprise to learn that we're only sixth. (Of course, in raw numbers of users, the USA has by far the most people.)
Fully 40% of the USA's 177 million 'Net users go online for music. Look at it another way: if you put your music on the Internet, you have a potential audience of some 70 million. And with total Internet users currently at 404 million, that translates into a worldwide potential audience of 161 million people.
The problem is: how to reach them. They are wildly segmented in terms of their music tastes. They only want to be contacted under certain circumstances. And they need to have a safe, secure, and easy way to make purchases.
Fortunately, "The Internet is still a new medium," says Meldrum, "and there are tremendous opportunities for people in the business of selling music."
Some opportunities are wasted, however, through poor Web site design.
TOP 5 MISTAKES OF WEB SITES:
1. Mistaking creativity for functionality. "Don't try to put everything on your front page. Organization is key. Lead your fans to the most important things." That's what menus are for, so don't hide them. "How many times have you gone to a site that looks interesting, but you have no clue how to navigate it? People don't have time to waste figuring it out. Make it easy for them."
2. Burying the offer. "Links to buy the CD should be available at almost every page on your Web site. Many Web sites challenge - almost dare - visitors to find the product, let alone buy it."
3. Ignoring fans. "Many artist Web sites have a registration feature, but it is not prominently displayed. When you are not selling albums at your Web site, you need to be collecting email registrations." This builds a fan base to which you can sell an album now and more in the future.
4. Not giving fans what they want. "Make your music accessible. Offer a few full streams of your songs. Make a download available in exchange for an email registration. You will win more fans and sell more CDs giving your music away than you will by not letting your potential fans really listen before they buy."
5. Failing to design with bandwidth in mind. "Ever been to a Web site and forgot why you were there before the page fully loaded? Getting people to your site is hard enough. Losing them because they got tired of waiting for your page to load is a waste of everyone's time and energy."
CONSIDER OTHER OPTIONS:
Web sites are a necessity, but don't overlook other ways to reach out to potential fans on the Internet. Banners can be bought or traded. Emails can be sent (be mindful of the CAN-SPAM law, see link below). Marketing can be done on search engines. You can join or participate in message boards and blogs (Web logs). And the latest advancement in music marketing involves social networks such as MySpace (see MySpace article at www.lamn.com ).
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Meldrum had specific suggestions for attendees, including:
* Use Google for research
* Check out MySpace.com
* Target your audience
* Simplify your Web site
* Give away some songs
* Interact with your audience often
"You can send emails in text or HTML format. With HTML (hyper text markup language), you can include pictures and graphics. They look nice, but we get twice the 'open rate' with plain text emails."
THE BOTTOM LINE ON WEB SITES:
"To your online fans, you are your Web site. If they love it, they will love you, and will be eager to follow your career. Take all the great things about you, your talent and your message, and translate them to HTML. Keep it simple, easy-to-navigate and informative, and you will have a highly-effective marketing channel for your music."
To purchase a handout from the lecture, please mail your check or money order for $10 payable to NARIP to P.O. Box 8934, Universal City, CA 91618-8934, ATTN: Online Marketing Handout or call 818-769-7007 to charge by phone.
Sources for more info:
www.hypecouncil.com
www.scottmeldrum.com
www.spamlaws.com/federal/108s877.html
www.wilsonweb.com/wmt5/viral-principles.htm
www.marketingterms.com/dictionary/blog/
www.google.com
www.myspace.com
Scott G records as The G-Man and you'll find his work on iTunes, at www.delvianrecords.com and www.gmanmusic.com
Making money from music online:
NARIP and Hype Council help the record industry
face facts and expose fiction.
Reported by Scott G
Scott Meldrum is a musician with a dry wit and a background in bulk mail. Oops, excuse me, direct response advertising. He's also the man frequently called on by major labels when they want to brand an artist and reach millions of fans via the Internet.
Since its first successful campaign with DreamWorks artist Papa Roach in 1998 and continuing with platinum-selling artists like Avril Lavigne, Dido and Jennifer Lopez, Meldrum's firm, Hype Council, has become one of the prime marketing weapons employed by the world's largest entertainment conglomerates.
Taking center stage for recent presentation sponsored by the National Association of Record Industry Professionals (NARIP) at the Beverly Garland Hotel in Los Angeles, Meldrum began with some facts about the Internet. Does that sound a bit dull? It wasn't. His presentation quickly revealed things about the 'Net that should be known by every marketer (that's you, if you or your artists sell music online).
THE GLOBAL AUDIENCE FOR MUSIC.
Most Internet users (nearly a majority) are between the ages of 30 and 49, far older than many in the audience thought. And for those of us who thought that the USA had the highest percentage of Internet users, it was a surprise to learn that we're only sixth. (Of course, in raw numbers of users, the USA has by far the most people.)
Fully 40% of the USA's 177 million 'Net users go online for music. Look at it another way: if you put your music on the Internet, you have a potential audience of some 70 million. And with total Internet users currently at 404 million, that translates into a worldwide potential audience of 161 million people.
The problem is: how to reach them. They are wildly segmented in terms of their music tastes. They only want to be contacted under certain circumstances. And they need to have a safe, secure, and easy way to make purchases.
Fortunately, "The Internet is still a new medium," says Meldrum, "and there are tremendous opportunities for people in the business of selling music."
Some opportunities are wasted, however, through poor Web site design.
TOP 5 MISTAKES OF WEB SITES:
1. Mistaking creativity for functionality. "Don't try to put everything on your front page. Organization is key. Lead your fans to the most important things." That's what menus are for, so don't hide them. "How many times have you gone to a site that looks interesting, but you have no clue how to navigate it? People don't have time to waste figuring it out. Make it easy for them."
2. Burying the offer. "Links to buy the CD should be available at almost every page on your Web site. Many Web sites challenge - almost dare - visitors to find the product, let alone buy it."
3. Ignoring fans. "Many artist Web sites have a registration feature, but it is not prominently displayed. When you are not selling albums at your Web site, you need to be collecting email registrations." This builds a fan base to which you can sell an album now and more in the future.
4. Not giving fans what they want. "Make your music accessible. Offer a few full streams of your songs. Make a download available in exchange for an email registration. You will win more fans and sell more CDs giving your music away than you will by not letting your potential fans really listen before they buy."
5. Failing to design with bandwidth in mind. "Ever been to a Web site and forgot why you were there before the page fully loaded? Getting people to your site is hard enough. Losing them because they got tired of waiting for your page to load is a waste of everyone's time and energy."
CONSIDER OTHER OPTIONS:
Web sites are a necessity, but don't overlook other ways to reach out to potential fans on the Internet. Banners can be bought or traded. Emails can be sent (be mindful of the CAN-SPAM law, see link below). Marketing can be done on search engines. You can join or participate in message boards and blogs (Web logs). And the latest advancement in music marketing involves social networks such as MySpace (see MySpace article at www.lamn.com ).
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Meldrum had specific suggestions for attendees, including:
* Use Google for research
* Check out MySpace.com
* Target your audience
* Simplify your Web site
* Give away some songs
* Interact with your audience often
"You can send emails in text or HTML format. With HTML (hyper text markup language), you can include pictures and graphics. They look nice, but we get twice the 'open rate' with plain text emails."
THE BOTTOM LINE ON WEB SITES:
"To your online fans, you are your Web site. If they love it, they will love you, and will be eager to follow your career. Take all the great things about you, your talent and your message, and translate them to HTML. Keep it simple, easy-to-navigate and informative, and you will have a highly-effective marketing channel for your music."
To purchase a handout from the lecture, please mail your check or money order for $10 payable to NARIP to P.O. Box 8934, Universal City, CA 91618-8934, ATTN: Online Marketing Handout or call 818-769-7007 to charge by phone.
Sources for more info:
www.hypecouncil.com
www.scottmeldrum.com
www.spamlaws.com/federal/108s877.html
www.wilsonweb.com/wmt5/viral-principles.htm
www.marketingterms.com/dictionary/blog/
www.google.com
www.myspace.com
Scott G records as The G-Man and you'll find his work on iTunes, at www.delvianrecords.com and www.gmanmusic.com
Download my first album, "Potential Remains", here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?uoo1zjkyiye
http://www.mediafire.com/?uoo1zjkyiye
