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Promoting your music online
Between 1999 and 2001 I wrote regularly for Making Music and other magazines about how musicians could use the internet to promote their music. It was an exciting time: bands who were starting out had access to a major distribution channel; artists were flexing their creative and marketing muscle to investigate new media formats; and new websites were springing up to help move music around the web.
Since then, most of the websites, most of the formats and most of the bands have failed. But many of their lessons are still valid.
That's why I'm leaving these articles here as an archive for you to use. I hope you'll be able to pick up some helpful advice. I'm updating this site with new resources as I discover them. You can help by telling me about useful sites you find online.
University of Death: A hilarious satire of the music industry
It took Jonathan ten years to create the perfect song. Clive Bigg is the only man who can bring it to the world, but his record label has built defences to keep fresh ideas out. Can Jonathan break in and convince Bigg to gamble on his track? The future of the music industry is at stake.
'University of Death' by Sean McManus is only available through Lulu.com. Your copy will be professionally printed and despatched to you when you place your order. The book is 380 pages in 6x9" Royal format and priced at £9.99. You can pay by credit card or Paypal using a secure server.
Get some free music
I've created a new links page of Music websites and free MP3 downloads, including links to some of my favourite artists and some sources of free (legal) downloads. Check out Radio Sean.co.uk too for a hand-picked selection of new music (requires Flash).Fifteen top music promotion tips
Read my top music promotion tips for guidance on how you can successfully promote your music online.Selling your music through online communities
Independent bands can sell music directly from their websites, but they'll get more exposure if you sell through a musicians' community or a mainstream CD retailing website. Here's a list of places where you can sell your music or promote it online.Erasure pioneers customised MP3 sales
Sean McManus reports on a new technology that enables you to mix a single and then download your preferred mix as an MP3. This technology for mass customising MP3s has been used by Erasure and The Prodigy, among others.Selling independent music on Ebay
Wouldn't you like to tap into Ebay's market of 157 million registered users? Robin Cowpertwait has done just that. In six months, he's sold 126 copies of his Midfielder CD to paying customers via Ebay. Sean McManus asks him he successfully sells his own music on Ebay.Short histories
In August 2003, I was commissioned to research a short history of band websites and a short history of file sharing for the Rock & Pop Timeline book by Johnny Black. The book presents a year by year history of the music industry, its stars and fashions. The articles don't appear in the book in their original form, so I thought I'd share them with you here.
Best-selling music promotion books
For more in-depth information, check out these reviews of hand-picked recommended books that can help you promote your music.
Archive articles
ExileInside interviewFormer My Life Story leader, Jake Shillingford has abandoned the major labels to set up his own project online. In this interview, he reveals how he got his project started and how the internet is giving him greater creative and financial freedom.
Stories of success
Sean McManus talks to some successful online bands about what promotional tools have worked for them.
It's payback time!
What's the future for the music economy? This article explores different ways bands can support themselves financially when distributing music online.
Promoting your band's website
If you've built your website, the hard work has only just begun. This article explains how to start promoting the site.
Like a rolling stone
Bill Wyman has released his own-brand portable MP3 player
Choosing an internet record label
As the directory at this site shows, there are so many websites aching to distribute your music now. How do you choose?
Bringing CDs to life
The internet is changing the way people treat CDs
Stumbling to the top
How did Stumble reach the top of the Peoplesound chart?
My Life Story interview
Jake Shillingford reveals why his band chose to use Windows Media Player to distribute their first e-single and how he believes the internet will figure in the band's strategy.
Writing music for the web
Exploring the opportunities to write music for this emerging medium, this article includes a virtual harp to play on-screen. Discover generative music here.
Its name is Rio
How practical is the Rio portable music player? Read this review.
Going live
OnlineTV claims to be able to lift bands from a small London gig to an international fan base by streaming their gigs over the internet.
The lessons from Voxpop
One of the UK's best established virtual record labels closed through lack of sales. Read about the lessons from MD John Paterson.