Everyone wants to sell you something. Whether it's a used car or a record deal; don't trust them. There's truth down there somewhere, but you've got to dig to get to it. You want to know exactly what you're getting, what it can do for you, and why you need it.
Sometimes, the digging is all done for you. Take this example. Below is an email I got from some promotion company (If your music is out there, you probably see these as well - one every few months or so at least). Basically, for a fee, they will sell you facebook fans, youtube plays, and website hits. They sell numbers. And I'm not okay with that. So, I sent them a reply:
From: Label - DianaHolland
Subject: Hi, Alex Brubaker you will love this Reverbnation Music Promotion
Date: 02/15/2012 6:22 AM
Hi Alex Brubaker my name is Mike with http://TalentHouseLIVE.com, the #1 site for Artist Development and Promotion. I've listened to the majority of your music and I think we can help you convey your talents to a much bigger audience.
Talent House Live will help you promote your music and grow your fan-base with our innovative marketing and brand management services. We specialize in a number of services like ReverbNation Promotion, Artist Development, FaceBook promotion, Twitter fans, YouTube promotion, DatPiff promotion, album cover designs and much more.
I am truly passionate about our dedication to help "Indie Artists and Indie Record Lables" with new and creative ways of marketing that traditional record labels can't match. If you are looking to launch your music career to new heights using internet marketing then check out Talent House LIVE. Get Revernation Promotion athttp://talenthouselive.com/portfolios/reverbnation
http://talenthouselive.com/portfolios/reverbnation
Get 10 percent Discount on all other Promo when you use the code mikepromo
Call Talent House Live directly @ 800 871-2314 and tell them Mike Referred you.
Get 10 percent Discount on all other Promo when you use the code mikepromo
Call Talent House Live directly @ 800 871-2314 and tell them Mike Referred you.
and my response:
To: Label - DianaHolland
Subject: reverbnation promotion
Date: 02/15/2012 1:12 PM
Mike,
Thank you for the email and reaching out to help. However, I do not prescribe to the idea of "selling plays." It's a great business model, to find young, naive artists and to show them big numbers; who wouldn't jump at that? But it's never about the numbers. It's about the music and the fans. When you turn your fans into numbers, they remain numbers. And numbers are not sustainable. Hype is not sustainable. This creates anomalies in statistics and makes overnight success look like a great thing. It's not. You need fans, not numbers, to sustain that. And if you don't know your fans, they might as well be numbers.
Music is something I see as a career. For me, it’s a career on the side, but still a career. A career in music is built on relationships with fans, friends, and other artists. One builds a career one gig at a time, during one song at a time, by one fan at a time. It’s not some one night stand with 100,000 faceless names.
Sorry, but my music is about the music and the fans. I won't cheapen that by buying fans and plays like some sort of commodity.
Alex Brubaker
www.alexbrubakerguitar.com
www.alexbrubakerguitar.com