Make It On MySpace – the complete guide for the Web 2.0 Artist Make It In Music …the ultimate resource to help you SUCCEED in the Music Business… Make It On MySpace – the complete guide for the Web 2.0 Artist ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ALL RIGHTS RESERVED No part of this guide may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any informational storage or retrieval system without expressed written, dated and signed permission from the author. DISCLAIMER AND/OR LEGAL NOTICES The information presented herein represents the views of the author as of the date of publication. Because of the rate with which conditions change, the author reserves the right to alter and update their opinions based on the new conditions. This report is for informational purposes only and the author does not accept any responsibilities for any liabilities resulting from the use of this information. While every attempt has been made to verify the information provided herein, the author and his resellers and affiliates cannot assume any responsibility for errors, inaccuracies or omissions. Any slights of people or organizations are unintentional. NOTE: This report is neither published nor endorsed by MySpace.com or News Corp and any suggestion contained herein of any such affiliation is unintentional and denied. Support: If you have any problems with this guide or any follow-up emails from us, or indeed, if you come across any broken links in here or on Our Blog the please send us an email to [email protected] and we will do our best to rectify it as soon as possible. Published By © Illicit Entertainment Ltd t/a Make It In Music 2009 PO Box 51871, London, NW2 9BR, UK v. 1.1 January 2009 Make It In Music …the ultimate resource to help you SUCCEED in the Music Business… Make It On MySpace – the complete guide for the Web 2.0 Artist MAKE IT ON MYSPACE About Us – Who are Make It In Music? 1. Introduction • The MySpace Myth 2. MySpace Basics • Sign Up Form • Managing Your Account • Mailbox • Validating and confirming Your Account 3. Using Your MySpace • Editing Your Profile • Layout • A Few Things to Take Note Of… • Build a Mailing List • Search Engine Optimisation • MySpace Music Player • Blogging • Top Friends • Videos • Adding an Upcoming Show 4. Building and Interacting with Your Fanbase • Using the Messaging Interface • Sending Messages • Bulletins • Commenting Other Users • Other means of Communicating with your Fans on MySpace • Making the most of your Interaction Time • Who to Add? • Automating Your MySpace 5. Selling Yourself on MySpace • Advertising on MySpace 6. Using MySpace to Your Best Advantage Resources HTML Codes MySpace Terms & Conditions Make It In Music 3 …the ultimate resource to help you SUCCEED in the Music Business… Make It On MySpace – the complete guide for the Web 2.0 Artist About Us - Who are Make It In Music? Make It In Music (‘MiiM’) is a Music Industry Resource Company set up by Ian Clifford, ably assisted by Amanda McGowan. Between them they have 30 years of frontline global Music Industry experience. After working tirelessly to find, develop and hone young talent for many years, it became glaringly obvious to them that the young hopefuls always had the same questions and always made the same mistakes in their quest for fame and fortune. That quest has only become harder in the last few years with the turmoil caused by the extended death throes of the long-serving Artist and Record Company model. Nobody knows quite how the explosion of the digital age in the Music Industry (downloading, social networking, the death of the CD etc) will play out. There are theories and there are potential new models, but for now, the future is clouded. We have seen and learnt a lot already about how MySpace and other Web 2.0 sites can help in your route to the top. It’s all in this Guide. It was always difficult, in any age, to get a band together, learn to write and play, and then attract enough attention to get a shot at success. It’s even harder now that the record companies have less money and even less room for manoeuvre. But….there are now some truly feasible alternative ways to reach your future fans and even ways to financially sustain yourself outside of the record company model. MySpace is part of that and it now needs to be a core part of your strategy. It’s the lessons that the founders can impart to help in that quest that led to the creation of MiiM. Having worked as a music lawyer, artist and producer/songwriter manager, record label owner, music publisher, promoter and more, there are few things that Ian hasn’t seen in the Music Business. With No.1 records on both sides of the Atlantic and first hand experience in Rock, Pop, Indie, Hip-Hop and Dance (and even a little folk!) that knowledge can be transcribed to any artist in any genre. From a technical legal starting point, through the creative process, making the record and ultimately marketing it and the band to the public, they can share their knowledge of all of it. Amanda has more than one degree in Psychology – an immensely helpful training both in dealing with artists and also in understanding what makes people become fans. Years of on-the-road touring and street team marketing, both in the moshpit and at the front edge of the digital frontier, make the value of her insight to any emerging artist incalculable. The aim of Make It In Music is to bring you all the information, resources and help that you need to succeed in the Music Business – and they can walk the walk, not just talk the talk. This is our first guide, all about using the power of MySpace to promote your music. Read it all – there is a lot of very good information in here that we have learnt over years of hard work. You will benefit from it. To your success! Make It In Music 4 …the ultimate resource to help you SUCCEED in the Music Business… Make It On MySpace – the complete guide for the Web 2.0 Artist 1.Introduction So, you have a band, you think you’re amazing and you’re looking for ways to increase your profile, and maybe get a record deal, without spending huge amounts of cash. Is this possible? The short answer is yes…if you know how to go about it properly. Most aspiring musicians believe that the only way to success is getting a record contract with a major label, but times have changed, and are continuing to do so. There is now a healthy do-it-yourself music scene that, if you haven’t joined already, you should be part of. There are several things you can do in order to help you along the way, and social networking sites are probably the best place to start. Unless you have had your head stuck in the ground the past couple of years you will have noticed that there are now a multitude of sites on the Internet that allow you to make friends and influence people. These social networking sites provide you with the ability to create a network of online friends (potential fans if you’re a musician!), allow you to customize profiles and create a constant web presence, and do not restrict you in who you can communicate with. In fact, in as little as a couple of hours you could have fans all over the world! Establishing a web presence is now, by far, the most important way to generate interest in your music, and creating a profile on one of these sites is the easiest way to do this. There are a multitude of social networking sites for you to choose from depending on the types of audiences, and fans, you are searching for, and ideally you need to be promoting your music on as many of them as possible. You will find that this is a time consuming job but unfortunately it is now necessary due to the fact that so many musicians have taken advantage of them. There are no quick fixes in the music industry and getting recognized for your work is becoming increasingly difficult. If you are not familiar with social networking then this whole thing may seem particularly daunting, especially if you are just starting out with your band, so below is a list of the most popular social networking sites for you to have a look at and start with: MySpace Facebook YouTube Last FM Twitter Friendster Squidoo Bebo There are more links available in the resources section at the back of this book if you would like a more comprehensive list. You should make sure that you have an active profile on as many of these sites as possible. Later guides in this series will tell you how to use each of these to your best advantage but for now we are going to concentrate solely on MySpace. MySpace has over 65 million users and receives more daily hits than Google. It is therefore an absolute necessity for any musician to have a MySpace profile as it is still the first place that people look to for new music. Make It In Music 5 …the ultimate resource to help you SUCCEED in the Music Business… Make It On MySpace – the complete guide for the Web 2.0 Artist The MySpace Myth As a quick aside before we get into the details of using MySpace, you will no doubt be aware of the stories surrounding MySpace and their musical ‘Success Stories’.