What now?

[NaeDae]

So I sent a song I made to a youtube music channel, and they posted it up to their 200,000 subscribers. It's got 10,000 plays so far on the video, which I'm pumped about. My soundcloud gained like 10 followers, and the soundcloud version of the song has over 1,100 plays so far.

So does anyone here know how to handle this publicity? I bought premium rights to the beat (rights to sell 5k copies (haven't sold any yet), and it says you get 10,000 "streams"). Should I buy the unlimited licence?

I have a youtube channel and I've linked stuff together. Any tips on what to do to build my fanbase?

[ochaim]

did you pay for the channel to post your music?

was the video that channel posted part of their account or yours?

the predominant method of generating and keeping a fanbase as an indie artist, aside from touring, is growing an email list. so if you have full control of the video, ie its on your channel, then adding a way for anybody interested to opt-in to your mailing list in exchange for, for example, the mp3 of that track as an incentive.

ideally this would have been set up beforehand to make the most of those 10k plays. but if its still getting some attention its still worth implementing. there's obviously more to it like the option of having clickable links embedded in the video that leads to an email capture page and the back end of managing the mailing list but that would be the gist of it.

at least thats what i would do if i were an artist. there's quite a bit of info on this online you want more details.

[Len911]

did you pay for the channel to post your music?

That always sends my red flag up the flagpole.

My soundcloud gained like 10 followers, and the soundcloud version of the song has over 1,100 plays so far.

Here is a start, who are the followers? Maybe ask them a few questions. I think SC can tell you where the 1,100 plays come from. Does it match the youtube channel's demographic, and if they have listeners all over the world, do yours, or do they all come from only a couple of cities or locations? It's a little strange you haven't sold any with all the publicity.

I don't have any experience with marketing music. I stumbled onto a free site, you basically upload your music and fans provide their email for a free download, they have a tip jar, and the site takes a cut of your tips. There's also a site I discovered to listen to new music, it's essentially an aggregate of what music bloggers are reviewing, and giving links to the blogs that link to the music. I think music blogs are maybe the new radio dj's?

There are places to host your music that take a cut of any sales, but if you don't have anyone leading people there, you aren't gonna sell anything. Taxi, bloggers, are probably the best way I can think of to get your music heard. The first site I mentioned with a tip jar, they claim 1.3 million subscribers, but how many of those are active?

[MattCurious]

Coming at it from a legal angle, if you've only licensed the beat for 10k streams and you've had over 10k plays (which are streams) then you should consider a bigger licence. The risk you face is that if the track blows up (here's hoping!) you won't be able to exploit the beat.

[NaeDae]

Coming at it from a legal angle, if you've only licensed the beat for 10k streams and you've had over 10k plays (which are streams) then you should consider a bigger licence. The risk you face is that if the track blows up (here's hoping!) you won't be able to exploit the beat.

It's another $160 that I don't have lol. I figure if it starts really blowing up and I start MAKING money, then it'd be more worth it to buy a better license.

[MattCurious]

From what you've described, the risk to you in taking that approach seems fairly low. Just bear in mind that (not having seen the contract) it sounds like they do have the right to stop you from using the beat and could ask you to pay them for any additional plays beyond what you've paid for. It depends on your risk appetite of course. One alternative is to see about getting a similar beat produced with a collaborator here on Taxi.