Google Places offers free marketing service

Going Places

Google wants to put your business on the map

I just did a neato-keen, high tech, wiz kid marketing trick that was so easy, anyone can do it. And probably should. I listed Sharp Audio on Google Places, a marketing tool offered for free by the (increasingly misnamed) global search engine company.

Google came up with the idea in order to provide content for GoogleMaps. There are over fifty million businesses located on Google Maps, according to the blog Extreme Social Media, but only four million have taken advantage of Google Places. Google would like to see every single one of those businesses fill out a simple form adding who, what and when to the where balloon already on the map.

Keeping control

David Guetta maintains his ownership rights by marketing his own music.

In the modern world of digital downloads and desktop music publishing, it can be difficult for an artist to know how to best market his work. Electronic artist David Guetta has found an interesting solution—he is using Facebook to control the distribution of his new album Nothing But The Beat. And he charges more for it there than he does on iTunes.

When push comes to shove

iLike helps musicians make personal apps for fans

Using push technology, which delivers requested media as it becomes available, iLike has revolutionized music distribution. The website provides a suite of useful tools that allow bands or individual artists to create an app for the iPhone or iPad. The app is like a combination music player, calendar, and EPK all rolled into one. Or if you want to pay a premium, it can do even more.

Putting together an electronic press kit

What every band needs to know

Your press kit allows journalists and booking agents to get a feel for your act and what you have to offer. It is a teaser of sorts, giving people enough information to make them want to find out more, to write about your band, an upcoming show, or even to decide to book you. They have been used since the dawn of the modern musical era (Elvis had one), but are now even more important as bands have taken on more and more responsibility for promoting themselves. They have also become easier and easier to put together.

Learning the law

iTunes U rocks the house!

As I develop my business plan for Sharp Audio and the Band Off musical competition, I have been doing some research on potential legal issues that might develop. As a result, I had the pleasure of virtually attending some lectures from iTunes U. Let me share what I learned.

The first podcast was fairly academic, but understandably so, as it was the closing address given by Charles Fried at a conference at Suffolk Law School to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his contract law classic, Contract as Promise. Mr. Fried had many interesting things to say, and a very eloquent way of saying them. 

His initial point was that contracts are promises brought into the legal realm. He advises people to remember, when they draw up contracts, that they are subjecting their promises to the vicissitudes of the laws that rule that realm. And he reminds us of the importance of getting contractual obligations in writing, because the court will likely be unwilling to guess at the intentions of the parties and refuse to hear the case under the parole evidence rule.

Copyright law gets big boost

Hard fighting copyright holders wins latest battle, but still a long way to go

Copyright has always been a big issue. Lately, with the advent of digital technology and the ubiquitous presence of the internet, it has become even more important. In fact, the Copyright Act of 1976 has been updated and amended more than ten times in the last decade.

The record industry has been at the forefront of defending copyrights during this period. They have personally brought many lawsuits against individuals, especially those involved in peer-to-peer file sharing. And as Smith and Fowler reported recently in the Wall Street Journal, the industry has taken their campaign to new heights by convincing internet access providers to take part in keeping their customers compliant with the law.

Owen Husney: artist, manager, promoter

Why modern record companies invite mediocrity 

Owen Husney is an artist manager from Minneapolis. He was the first manager Prince hired, and was responsible for getting him a precedent-setting contract with Warner Brothers that gave Prince nearly complete creative control. In an interview at the website Artist House Music, he talked about his experience with Prince and the state of artist development in the industry.

“The biggest problem today is the lack of development of artists,” he says. He blames the state of the industry and the lack of people at the label willing to go to bat for their artists, stick their necks out, and get the artist the support they need. One of the reasons he gives is the lack of development and support within the record companies. He says that A&R people are not being developed. If they sign an act that fails, they are fired.