Blair Witch Music Project?

Here's an interesting way to create a little mystery and buzz about a band.
Sofie Dhondt is the lead vocalist for the Belgium band Colorless Green Ideas. She reportedly was a contestant on a Belgium Pop Idol show, which she unexpectedly dropped out of. (I can't find anything online in English to verify this except the band's blog, but let's assume it's true.)

So, Colorless Green Ideas apparently took a cue from the successful indie buzz film Blair Witch Project and created a story about how Sofie had suddenly disappeared. The members started asking their fans for help in locating her. They registered the domain name FindSofie.com and posted mysterious clues little by little over a period of months, including a video and digital pictures of the missing singer.

Check out the band's YouTube video clue, MySpace page and web site.

I'm not sure how much buzz they actually created with this idea. But it seems like an excellent concept with a lot of viral marketing potential.

Could you do something similar with an aspect of your musical story?

-Bob

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10 Ways to Turbo-Charge Your Indie Music Career

Need a motivational shot in the arm to get cranking on your indie music goals? Here's my list of 10 things you can do right now to kick-start your music career, based on my favorite blog posts from earlier this year:

1) Take Action Now

2) Get Friendly With Google

3) Use John Legend's Approach to Fans

4) Focus on Singles

5) Triple Your Odds of Getting Media Coverage

6) Connect With an Audience - One Person at a Time

7) Get Outrageous With Publicity

8) Be Creative With YouTube Music Videos

9) Develop a Guerrilla Music Marketing Calendar

10) Make Yourself Spreadable

-Bob

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Are your press kits going straight into the trash? Make sure your PR materials are actually read ... and help lead you to more media exposure. Check out Killer Music Press Kits today!

What Should I Write Next? You Decide!

As you probably know, I've already published a lot of books, reports and audio programs on music marketing and artist empowerment. Some people say I'm prolific. But to be honest, I'm often frustrated because I haven't produced more.

The list of titles I'd like to create is more abundant than the time available to write them. So I need your help. Right now, please take a moment and go to this page and vote for the topic you'd like me to write about next.

I've whittle down pages of possibilities to my six favorite titles. But I need you to help me decide which one to focus on and complete next. Select your favorite and see how it stacks up against how other people have voted.

You'll find the Choose My Next Title mini-poll page here:
www.bob-baker.com/buzz/poll.html

If there's a topic you'd like me to write about that isn't covered in the poll, leave a comment on this page below. I'd love to hear your ideas.

Thanks for your help. I really appreciate it!

-Bob

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Make the most of the world's biggest social networking web site with this great primer on MySpace Music Marketing. Available in paperback or ebook format. Get more details here.

Two Great Tele-Classes in July

It may be summertime, but these are certainly not lazy days for yours truly. I'll be busy this month hosting two fantastic live conference calls with three great guests as part of my Indie Music Marketing Insiders Club series.

And I invite you to join us live ... for FREE.
Monday, July 16 - How to Use Podcasts to Promote Your Music Online

This teleclass will feature two expert guests: Jason Van Orden, a podcasting consultant, speaker and author of Promoting Your Podcast; and "Jammin" Dave Jackson, host of "The Musicians Cooler" podcast and author of Get Your Band Out of the Basement (and Keep Them Out of the Asylum). During this hour I'll pick their brains on the best ways to use podcasts (your own and other people's) to get widespread exposure on the Internet.

Monday, July 23 - Music Biz Lessons From Indie Musician/Attorney John Strohm

In 1986, John Strohm co-founded the indie rock trio Blake Babies with Juliana Hatfield and Freda Love. He's also performed and recorded with Lemonheads, Mike Watt, Polara, Antenna, Velo Deluxe, and Hello Strangers. John now works as an entertainment lawyer, representing musicians, songwriters, and independent record labels. On this call he'll share invaluable stories of life in the musical trenches, as well as the most important legal matters indie musicians should be aware of.

Both calls will last an hour or so and have segments for caller questions and interaction. Here are the call-in details for both teleclasses:

Starting time: 9 PM Eastern (6 PM Pacific, 8 PM Central)

Dial-in number: 1-218-339-7800 (a Minnesota number)

Access code: (enter this number when prompted) 37251

There's no cost to access the call. Only your regular long distance charges will apply. The number of participants is limited, so call in near the top of the hour to make sure you get in.

Please note: Joining us on the live call is free. But if you miss it or want to access the MP3 download later, you must be a member of the Indie Music Marketing Insiders Club. Joining is easy and comes with a ton of benefits, including access to my previous teleclasses with Ariel Hyatt, Geoff Byrd, Musician X and more. Get all the details here and here.

-Bob

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Check out the revised and updated edition of Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook, with four new chapters on Internet music promotion. Get more details here.

5 Music Sites You Should Know About

TuneCore
www.tunecore.com
This service will get your digital music sold on iTunes and other leading online stores. You keep all profits after paying some modest annual fees.

CustomFlix CDs and DVDs on Demand
www.customflix.com
This company will store your digital audio files, video files and artwork, then produce physical CDs and DVDs only when orders come in. They can also set up your titles with Amazon.com.

Snapvine
www.snapvine.com
A free service that lets you record a voice message that you can place on your web site, MySpace, Facebook, etc., using its custom widget. People can also call in and leave voice comments. Kind of like an audio version of blog comments.

Session Sound
www.sessionsound.com
A Singapore-based site that lets musicians set up free profiles and sell downloads and physical CDs. Send them one master and they'll also burn your CDs as orders come in.

Saki Mobile Undiscovered Band Contest
www.sakimobile.com/ingrooves
Enter your band. Winners get lots of cool stuff. Drive your fans to the Saki Mobile site.

-Bob

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Wanna create a music buzz online? Check out my special report 50 Ways to Promote and Sell Your Music on the Internet.

Prince Pisses Off UK Music Retailers

The news headlines border on ridiculous:

"Prince Album Freebie Draws Industry Ire"

"Music Industry Attacks Free Prince CD"
Here's what all the supposed fuss is about:

• In August and September, Prince will perform 21 shows at the new, state-of-the-art 02 Arena in London. The first 15 shows sold out in hours, so six more were added. These will be his only European dates on this tour.
  
  
• As with his previous album release, everyone who attends the concerts will get a copy of Prince's new CD, Planet Earth, as part of their admission price.
  
  
• What's causing the uproar? Yesterday (Sunday, July 1) UK tabloid the Mail on Sunday gave away about 2 million copies of Planet Earth with every copy of the paper.

UK music retailers are upset, because His Purpleness has cut out the middle man and is giving away his new CD directly to fans, which leaves little incentive for people to go to stores to buy it.

Years ago, Prince got out of his contract with Warner Bros and has been operating as an indie. But he uses BMG, one of the major label corporations, to distribute his physical CDs worldwide. With the news of this massive giveaway, the UK arm of Sony BMG is refusing to distribute the CD to stores on that continent.

So, what's the real story here? Who are the losers and winners?

To imply that "the music industry" is enraged by this move is nonsense. Yes, retailers are pissed. They feel that Prince is snubbing the businesses that supported him for so many years. And the music industry establishment (especially at BMG) is upset because an artist with clout is challenging their outdated, decades-old business model.

But the real winners are fans. They are getting access to music easily and without having to jump through hoops.

Prince is a winner, as well. Fans may be getting the CD for free but, reportedly, the Mail on Sunday paid $1 million US for the right to give away the Planet Earth discs.

Plus, the publicity generated by this controversy is creating awareness and buzz about the new CD (which officially goes on sale July 24). Do you think that will lead to sales in countries where the album is not being given away?

The funny thing is, banning the record from UK retail stores makes it even more alluring in that country. If people didn't get the freebie CD and want one, they can still go online and buy one -- and they will.

Other winners: Independent artists the world over who are seeing a great example of alternate ways to reach a lot of fans while also getting paid.

Want more details? Read the Mail on Sunday CD giveaway promo page and Prince's own 3121 label site.

-Bob

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To you success!

-Bob