Ty Cohen Presents Making The Transition Online

The explosion of digital media has not only changed the way music labels have to do business

, it"s also forced veteran musicians to rethink how to sell their music. To rely solely on CD sales is not only lazy; it"s professionally foolhardy because more and more people are going online to discover, and then buy, music. Making the transition from traditional distribution to online will be smoother and more effective by mapping out a strategy beforehand.

Established musicians have an important advantage over artists just starting out "" they already have an active fans base. So the first way to sell music online is the most basic: build a kick-ass website. Include song samples and give fans the option of buying physical CDs or downloading the songs collectively or individually. Also, labels will not spend significant money promoting older material. But veteran musicians can offer their entire catalog online. One reason consistently given for using illegal P2P sites is that the music is not available anywhere else.

Social networks are a highly effective way to reach fans. In addition to Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, there are several social networking sites dedicated to music such as imeem.com. Other sites, such as Ilike.com, combine social networking with commercial tools designed to track plays and cultivate new fans.

Veteran musicians can also sign on with one or more music hosting services. The real value of partnering with an established online music distribution company such as TuneCore or CDBaby is that they in turn can get songs on iTunes, which will not deal directly with musicians, only distributors.

Holding Q&A sessions with fans online is another way to both sell music and deepen the connection with fans. So is writing a blog. Blogging requires more of a commitment but also has greater potential than a single Q7A session. Through a blog, fans can be kept updated on appearances, the musician can get feedback on new work and offer fans value added extras for buying a CD, such as an autographed picture or poster.

The things to remember is that the Internet is intertwined, so if you establish a blog or participate in a Q&A or partner with an online music distributor, make sure to promote than on your website, announce it in a Tweet and post it on Facebook. And soon even veteran musicians will be enjoying the benefits of viral marketing.

by: Ty Cohen

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