How to Really Get Your Music on Blogs

Personally, I find it unbelievable that there are artists out there that still don't know what promotional blogs are. Over the past few years, these little websites have set the world of DIY independent music promotion on the internet on fire, making it easy and affordable (free!) for up and coming artists to promote their new music, album, and videos to a hungry audience of obsessed music fans. I recently read a free e-book by a college student by the name of Chris Bracco called "How to Really Get Your Music on Blogs," and as a long time indie hip hop blogger, I believe Chris' ideas, attention to detail, and ways to organize your campaigns are well thought out and show you exactly how to organize your online blog promotions the easy way.

I highly recommend this quick read to any up and comer that would like to expand their listening audience.

Download the FREE e-book here!

[via. tightmixblog]

Ten Feet Deep

What happens when you play your first show ever in the deep end of a drained pool? You get a sweet new band name of course.

Ten Feet Deep, consisting of four New Yorkers: Alexander Craig (Vocals), Brendan Ryan (Guitar), Pete Chema (Bass), and Mike Leff (Drums),  are an up and coming band that have the pure pop-power to send any college bar full of cuties into a frenzy. Equipped with playful and smart lyrics, infectious pop melodies, and easy to digest concepts, Ten Feet Deep embodies what made Weezer so popular in 1994.

Their latest self titled release, which was produced by John Lissauer (Leonard Cohen, Whitney Houston) and Phillip Maniatty, might be the band's rocket ship to the radio. With contagious songs like "Worry Out," "Without Melinda," and "Hands Down," Alexander Craig proves himself a formidable pop-rock front man that was born with the ability to engage any type of ear or elitist taste-- an almost impossible feat.

I've sifted through a lot of talented bands and solo artists from various genres on BandSoup, but no other group or artist has flaunted the overwhelming radio ready, let-me-make-you-money-now pop fortitude quite like Ten Feet Deep. It's only a matter of time before this New York quartet shows the mundane Daughtry/Scott Stapp cloned rock charts how to crack a beer and laugh again.

Ten Feet Deep's latest full length LP is available now on CDBaby. Below is the video from one of my favorite songs from the record, as well as a link to their hilarious track about a chick that ruins the party (we all know one), "Without Melinda."

Click Here to Listen to Ten Feet Deep on BandSoup.

Black Rose Trick

Trudging through the gloomy afterglow of the late 80's-early 90's noise pop movement,  made popular by droning dreamers like Joy Division, Cocteau Twins, The Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine, are four Scandinavian shoegazers known as Black Rose Trick.

Trine Berg (vocals) and Jacob Falk (Keys, Guitar) started the project in 2007 and recently completed their pre-debut record EP, How to Handle an Eel, after three years of tears. The new EP bleeds emotion, but is tamed by a steady tourniquet of dreamy, pedal heavy guitar effects and gloomy melodies. Trine Berg's haunting vocals-- half eerie, half heavenly-- are heroin for the ears. One bump is all it will take before you are mainlining the rest of the record, pupils dilating in a drowsy pool of Mazzy Star nostalgia.

Despite the decline of "Shoegazing" artists in the late 90's, this emotionally driven, rainy day genre of music still has a wide range of listeners around the world. While the music often seems to be tailored to tear jerking indie flicks and shocking anti-drug PSA's, the raw emotion, warmth, and despair involved in each note is heavily desired in an industry riddled in corporate pop and manufactured minstrels.  It's only a matter of time before Denmark's nu (gaze) group enters the star stickered iPods of America's youth and teaches them how to feel again.

Click Here & Listen to Black Rose Trick on BandSoup.com

Their latest EP is available to purchase & stream here.

15 Critical Marketing Mistakes That All Musicians Must Avoid

Since most of the artists on Bandsoup are DIY rising stars, we felt that there should be more discussion about strategies, networking, and modern industry ideas to help independent musicians through their blossoming career. Below is a great new article from MicControl's Jon Ostrow on a few critical marketing mistakes that you should avoid.

Musicians are entrepreneurs whether they want to believe it or not. By writing music under a band name, pen name or even just their own name, they have effectively created a brand that must be properly marketed if it is to thrive and flourish. But there-in lies a major problem: not all musicians know everything about marketing and they will eventually make some critical mistakes that lead to the demise of their short-lived venture. It is, however, the musicians who take the time to learn from past mistakes made by other musicians, and furthermore learn to correct these mistakes, that are the ones who build up the kind of influential brand that has lasting power.

These are 15 potentially crippling, yet ultimately avoidable marketing mistakes that are all too commonly made by the emerging music community, along with tips to help you as an artist to overcome and succeed in the best way possible:

Impulsive Decision

Before they morphed into masters of acoustic alt-ballads at the turn of the new millennium, Incubus spazzed out in front of crowds at Ozzfest and The Family Values Tour, sharing stages with hard rocking bands like KoRn, System of a Down, Pantera, Slipknot, Mudvayne and Disturbed. The harsh and schizophrenic instrumentals on their 1997 release, S.C.I.E.N.C.E., mixed with lead singer Brandon Boyd's in your face vocals, remind me of a band that recently uploaded their music to Bandsoup.com, Impulsive Decision.

Lead singer Brian Murtaugh's throaty wails on "Lady Black" give an extra energetic thrust to the powerful guitar work of Mike Dolan and Anthony Massi, laying solid ground for drummer Josh Beckham to pound home. Shades of early Incubus (see: "New Skin" on S.C.I.E.N.C.E., 1997) will excite fans of 90's alternative, but Impulsive Decision sports a mellow side that mirrors the sounds of new era alternative rock as well.

Despite only being together since 2007, the band's chemistry continues to surge. On top of continually scooping up Battle of the Band wins in the South Jersey/Philadelphia area,  the quintet has recently inked a sponsorship deal with Amp Energy and was signed to popular California based record label Citation Records. In addition to bringing their sounds to college campuses across the US as part of an AMP tour, the band will be working with Citation Records to promote the official reissue of Far From Thru, complete with brand new tracks.

Listen to Impulsive Decision on Bandsoup.com

The Deadbeats

Add The Deadbeats to the list of fresh things coming out of the middle of the Pacific. True to their name, they drink, jam and beg for change while delivering a jazzy-hip-hopy-funky-rocky-super-dopetronical sound full of charm and optimism.

Harumi the Hymn (emcee) and Brett Robinson (bass/ vocals) formed the band after an unfortunate family incident involving "cats, kittens, towels and scissors". The two recorded an album in their garage and later added Ethan 'Honky-tonk' Capone (keys), Micah Mclaughlin (drums), and "a strange young man" by the name of Matty Wong (saxophone) who caught ear of the quartet. The five friends set out to make music that "felt good". And it does feel good.

The Deadbeats have opened for The Elevaters, Eric Hutchinson, Mos Def and were voted "Best Up-and-Coming" by The Honolulu Weekly and "Best Hip-hop Group" at the Hawaii Underground Music Awards. Catch them live every Wednesday night @ Jazz Minds Cafe in Honolulu.

Listen to the Deadbeats on BandSoup.com

Cherry Suede

It's innovative artists like Cherry Suede that are defining the new music paradigm. Fully embracing the technology that is ravishing the traditional industry, they give away their music for free and are changing the way artists and fans connect.

Bandmates Randy Scott and Randy Young were both fans of rock giants like the Beatles, Springsteen, Bryan Adams, Tom Petty, … before they were musicians and understand how important artist/fan connections are. After forming Cherry Suede, they took the philosophy of 'music as a shared experience' and ran with it.

They realized that they didn't view their fans as consumers of a product offered by a business, but rather, as part of the overall shared musical experience. So they decided to give away their music for free under a Creative Commons License (where fans are free to download, distribute, and remix all songs as long as they credit Cherry Suede and don’t resell them). This had a huge impact and as word spread a core group of fans formed becoming the Cherry Suede Brigade.

Still growing, CSB members now host Cherry Suede shows in their homes, back yards, camp-outs, etc., and show the guys around their hometowns. Some of these 'Hometown' shows are recorded and broadcast on the Cherry Suede site. CSB members are looking forward to a year of events with the band that include a cruise to the Bahamas, opening for Rick Springfield in Montreal, and a trip to the UK.

Very cool.

Listen to Cherry Suede on BandSoup.com

Hydrovibe

You've got to love the story of Hydrovibe that starts in Louisiana with vocalist Heather St. Marie collaborating with guitarist Mat Dauzat to create a sound combining dynamic, guitar-driven rock with powerful vocals. St. Marie and Dauzat move to LA and the very week of their arrival, Mat auditions and is hand-picked by Sharon and Kelly Osbourne to play lead guitar in Kelly’s band, immediately launching a worldwide tour supporting her debut album “SHUT UP” on Sony Records.

While on tour, Dauzat and St. Marie continue writing music via the internet. Upon Mat’s return, they begin recording demos and complete the line up with drummer Philippe Mathys and bass player Eliot Lorango. The four decide to delve into the budding DIY music business model and release their first album independently.

While mixing their debut album “Nothing Left To Lose”, Lion’s Gate/Twisted Pictures notifies the band that their track “Killer Inside” would be featured in the upcoming third installment of the blockbuster SAW film franchise. The band quickly switches gears and releases a 5-song EP (which also features a guest vocal appearance from the film’s star SHAWNEE SMITH).

Then the band's offered a spot on METAL EDGE Magazine sponsored “Corporate Punishment Tour” with Amity Lane featuring Kevin Palmer and Josh Moates of Trust Company and hit the road. Hydrovibe continues to tour the U.S. heavily for 2 years sharing stages with Static-X, Taproot, Soulfly, Trust Company, Powerman 5000, (Hed) P.E., Black Stone Cherry, Soil, and Drowning Pool.

When the band comes home and revisits the mostly finished album, they quickly decide to re-record to capture the new strength and intensity and to perform the more honed, road-tested versions of the songs. Hydrovibe enters Mad Dog Studios in Burbank, CA with Kevin Lamb to re-track the album. The band also enlists Kevin Churko, (Ozzy Osbourne, In This Moment, Five Finger Death Punch) who takes a break from his work on the new Ozzy album to mix the album’s first single “Fame”.

Hydrovibe kicks off 2010 by signing a deal with Japanese record label SPINNING that will release “Nothing Left To Lose” in Japan -Today!

What's Next?

Listen to Hydrovibe on BandSoup.com