Thirsty Throwdown Productions

Online Presence as a Musician
by: Jon of the Shred

Ah, the coveted online presence of a musician. Arguably, a far more useful tool in this day and age than a record deal, your online presence can MAKE or BREAK the advancement of your career. As a self-employed musician myself (aka unemployed), I will show you some of the tricks I’ve used to build a formidable web presence.

Facebook + Wix

One of the coolest tricks I’ve found is the Wix “My Site” tab for Facebook pages. This is a easy-to-use flash website builder. If you check out the website I built for Thirsty Throwdown Productions and Sweet Funky Freedom, you will see they are a unique way to introduce new viewers to the content of your website.

Thirsty Throwdown Productions
Sweet Funky Freedom

Give your site a unique edge with a customized Wix “My Site” app! Spend a couple hours designing the site, put some REAL effort into it - the goal is, you want to show your friends, fans, and family some love with a nicely designed flash portal on Facebook.

Soundcloud + Cloud Killers

Soundcloud is a phenomenal website to host your tracks to showcase to the world. (Did you know there’s a Soundcloud App on Facebook, by the way, to get a playlist tab in your Facebook pages? Look it up!) When I first started using Soundcloud, I loved the ability of putting a slick looking player on the walls of music groups to generate hits on my new, prized track. But the comments just weren’t rolling in….

Enter Cloud Killers. This site is a great way to both discover new music, find artists to collaborate with through the internet, AND earn points and luck towards YOUR OWN amount of monthly, weekly, and even DAILY comment intake. Check it out, you will not be disappointed!

Headliner.fm

Headliner.fm is a cross-promotional tool aimed at labels and artists. The system is based on “Band Bucks” - the more fans you have, the more you earn when you promote another band. (Fans are calculated from linked Twitter, Myspace, and Facebook accounts.)

I’ve found TWO crucial ways to get hits on this site:

1) Offer some free sh!t -Be it a live CD on archive.org, or a set of production tools for hip hop artists and electronic producers, or even a new single for free download…free = more hits! Share your music, and advertise the fact you are giving them a free track! The fans will appreciate that!
2) Witty, humorous advertising - When I’m advertising for Jon of the Shred, I like to go overboard with hyperbole and sarcasm.

“The latest Jon of the Shred tracks gave Chuck Norris a concussion and melted the Predators face off.” (Link)

I don’t know about you, but I’d click THAT link.

Get YOUR music on Itunes, Spotify and Amazon!

To get one’s music on I-Tunes, Spotify, and Amazon, they must FIRST face SE7EN TRIALS of UNRELENTING TERROR. First, a journey through the FOREST OF THE IMPALED. Then…..

Just kidding. All you need to do it sign up with a site like Routenote.com. Your album will go through quality checks for each separate website (Amazon, Itunes, and Spotify) and you can expect to see them in a few months, the latest. Once they’re up, its your job to promote your own product to get the sales!
(Note: Routenote lets you take 85% of your earnings in exchange for free service. Alternatives cost instant cash.)


STAY THIRSTY

An online presence is essential to a musicians career. Stay thirsty, stay driven, continue to strive for your goals and push yourself into new realms of expertise, both in your musical craft, your sound engineering abilities, and your promotional charisma. But most of all, spread YOUR own unique message - stay thirsty!