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Music Marketing Online and Getting a Fanbase


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Howdy. I have a couple things I'm trying to do here.

The first of which is - I've got a new soundtrack I'm working on and it stands to be my highest quality output yet, and I wanted to know some of the ways some of our more successful remixers/game composers have been able to get their music out and around - Danny B, Joshua Morse, Zircon, etc. I know I don't qualify to be in that list as I haven't earned even 1/10th of what they have with fewer remixes posted and not as many years getting work out, but certainly there were things that they did and submitted and plugged to a huge series of places in their first few years to build that fanbase - they didn't just start out popular and go from there.

I have built a starting plan and list of what to do with my soundtracks and music from now on once I get them finished and released, but I'd like to find as many more as I can.

And if I can get a pretty good response here, the second thing I'm wanting to do, is build a structured guide for others here on Ocremix and my website to do for their own soundtracks and releases - with the advice I get back and based on my own experiences so far with ESPERS and Meteocrity Vol. 1.

I mean a REAL start - not the kinds of guides you get elsewhere online full of very generic information that's 10 years old and no ideas of where to actually submit and plug into. That stuff's ok for the utmost beginners, but not helpful for those of us beyond it and, contrary to popular belief, Google does not solve every inquiry that comes it's way.

So I'm hoping to get a decent level of feedback here for my own stuff to do, and then take it and turn it into a guide for the community.

Thank you!

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I wanted to know some of the ways some of our more successful remixers/game composers have been able to get their music out and around - Danny B, Joshua Morse, Zircon, etc. I know I don't qualify to be in that list as I haven't earned even 1/10th of what they have with fewer remixes posted and not as many years getting work out, but certainly there were things that they did and submitted and plugged to a huge series of places in their first few years to build that fanbase - they didn't just start out popular and go from there.

First of all, congrats on your new soundtrack, I know it will be killer!

Second, to address your question of fanbase, it really boils down to how active and engaging you are, how much output you have, and how lucky you get.

If you want to build a FB fanbase, you have to keep them interested in you through conversation, updates, etc.

It's become a constant thing now through instant sites like twitter.

Having lots of QUALITY output is also important - if the track is good, it will eventually find an audience... but you'll have to have more where that's coming from, and soon.

And by good, I mean, REALLY good. You have to set the bar astronomically high and try to reach it - you're not allowed to be content with your mixing or composing to continue to be successful.

Lots of modern artists nowadays I see having releases scheduled every month, even if it's an unofficial remix or something.

Getting other kinds of attention is difficult; blogs are really scattered now and whether your stuff charts on places that matter like Hypem is basically luck of the draw. Starting out your best bet would be to try to garner a youtube following or post on forums you are respected and active in, like here.

Basically, you have to have a damn quality product and be able to do lots more like it quickly, you have to be active and entertaining, and you have to either know someone or get lucky.

Also, you have to keep trying. It's 80% about constant presence and 20% everything else haha

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Howdy. I have a couple things I'm trying to do here.

The first of which is - I've got a new soundtrack I'm working on and it stands to be my highest quality output yet, and I wanted to know some of the ways some of our more successful remixers/game composers have been able to get their music out and around - Danny B, Joshua Morse, Zircon, etc. I know I don't qualify to be in that list as I haven't earned even 1/10th of what they have with fewer remixes posted and not as many years getting work out, but certainly there were things that they did and submitted and plugged to a huge series of places in their first few years to build that fanbase - they didn't just start out popular and go from there.

I have built a starting plan and list of what to do with my soundtracks and music from now on once I get them finished and released, but I'd like to find as many more as I can.

I'm actually curious as to this question for advice on building a fanbase, myself, even despite the advice given by the first replier. I have a Facebook page, and have been updating it somewhat regularly, yet last time I checked, I only have 40 fans, only one or two of whom have posted on my page's Wall. I also compose a piece at least twice a week, so whether I have enough music to attempt to promote is out of the question for me.

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Having lots of QUALITY output is also important - if the track is good, it will eventually find an audience... but you'll have to have more where that's coming from, and soon.

And by good, I mean, REALLY good. You have to set the bar astronomically high and try to reach it - you're not allowed to be content with your mixing or composing to continue to be successful.

Also, you have to keep trying. It's 80% about constant presence and 20% everything else haha

That's where I ran into trouble initially. I'm pretty proud of my first two albums as they have afforded me easier access to new opportunities, but their general quality is not up there. My first album was absolutely crippled in a post-production crash and I couldn't go back and fix the execution and mixing, I had to send it straight to mastering. My second album - not sure why people haven't dug it quite as much, I thought a free SNES/PS1 style album would've been more popular, but it's popularity comes and goes.

Right now, I'm much better set up and I'm getting a lot better at execution and mixing, but my general naiveness and lack of places to actually put into press and marketing still hold me back.

What I'd like to focus on here, at least initially, is to set up a click-able list of places to send that stuff out to based on what people offer here. I want to get it set up like:

Press Release:

Destructoid.com

Kotaku.com

IGN.com

Reviews:

musicreviewsonline.com

indiemusicreviews.com

Something like that. I know its not as magical as just getting an album through those and pushing buttons, but certainly its stuff like that that really adds up.

All the same, that's some really good starting advice, Raptor and I appreciate it. :)

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