A decade ago, I wouldn’t have woken up and remained in bed while scanning all my accounts for new messages on my phone, only to then get out of bed and do it again on my computer as if the prior were an appetizer before actual computing. But when I find myself reflecting on the days of rotary phones and the simplicity of life with fewer connections, I realize that this reflection isn’t unique to my peers and me. It’s a feeling that cycles in for every generation of adult.
Consider your parents and the childhood they had. Wasn’t there a time when the television (or even radio, depending on how old you are) was a novelty? I wonder if parents in those times worried about raising their kids in the television age the way I worry about raising kids in the smartphone age.
And as this technology becomes more integrated into our lives (and it can), we should expect life to change even more, where our communicative connections revolutionize themselves the way electricity transformed the use of power, or the way indoor plumbing improved the smell of our city streets.
Anyway, this is just a grasp at perspective as we all go from surprise to half-joking panic at our decimated Twitter metrics. On the plus side, at least we’re now all about as popular as Ashton Kutcher…
One could argue that finding moderate success for a musician in this age is relatively easier than in the past. While the basic tenants of promotion still hold true – creating good music and playing exciting shows – the low-cost options made available by online platforms give today’s artists huge marketing advantages over methods from decades ago.
Here are a list of great tools for promoting your music online. If you’re a musician, get to know them well and you can save your time and money on more important things… like your fourth delay pedal.
ArtistData
Upload a show to ArtistData and they’ll automatically send it out to huge number of sites and calendars.
Bandcamp
A powerful distribution and sharing site that gives you ultimate control.
Band Metrics
Measure your engagements and the spread of your music.
Facebook
Obviously. Also, since Facebook holds so much personal user info, site ads can be specifically targeted to specific demographics for maximum cost-effectiveness.
Fanbridge
A feature-rich mailing list system that works incredibly well.
MySpace
During the Musician & Promoter Workshop in San Francisco. an attendee commented that MySpace was dead and thus not worthy of attention. However, as someone who reviews music for an established publication, I can safely say that it is worth the small amount of effort it takes to set up a page. People still expect you to have one, so it’s important to have.
ReverbNation
Quite possibly the most robust social media platform for musicians. Tools include mailing lists, widgets and influence metrics across multiple online sites. Integration with Facebook makes the utilization of their services seamless.
The Sixty One
A slick site that allows listeners to randomly stumble onto new music, rate songs and recommend similar artists. As a songwriter, it’s an amazing way to share your material while seeing which of your tracks stimulate listeners the most.
Consider your parents and the childhood they had. Wasn’t there a time when the television (or even radio, depending on how old you are) was a novelty? I wonder if parents in those times worried about raising their kids in the television age the way I worry about raising kids in the smartphone age. 
