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Getting Your Music Online:
Fast & Free Ways to Get Your Music Into the Hands of the Online Masses

by Jay Johnson

When Dinosaurs Roamed – Promotion In The Past

Let’s go back in time about 10 years and think of all the fun ways there were to get your music out to the masses. Handing demo tapes out at

your local battle of the bands is not my idea of a good time and it won’t

net the results needed to get your band to the next level. In this world of light speed communication it’s easy to get a couple thousand people to download your music.

The Land Of The Free – Promotion Today

It’s all about getting your music out to as many places as possible for maximum exposure. It’s like having a giant robot standing in the middle of Times Square yelling at the top of it’s computer lungs how great your demo is and offering free listens to all those that pass by. The best part of today’s music promotion is that it’s completely free! Gone are the days of buying stamps, padded envelopes, blank tapes, and CDR’s. Today all you need is a computer, your band’s CD, and an internet connection.

Geeking Out – Getting Started

First things first, let’s get your music into MP3 format. This format allows almost anyone with a computer an easy way to download and listen

to your tunes. Follow the instructions below to get your tunes into the MP3 format.

iTunes Instructions:

1. Open iTunes

(if you need iTunes, it available free for Mac and Windows at: www.apple.com/itunes/)

2. Go to iTUNES > Preferences. Choose the importing icon at the top of the preferences panel.

3. Set the “import using” drop down to MP3 and choose the quality setting of your choice, for low-res (dial-up) web audio somewhere around 32kbps is acceptable, for higher quality (broadband) 128kbps or more sounds much better.

4. In the advanced settings you can select where the iTunes music folder is located. This is where your MP3s will be imported to.

5. Insert your CD select the songs that you wish to import

(by default they are all checked.

Click the import button in the upper right corner of the interface.

Windows Media Player Instructions:

1. Open Windows Media Player 10

(Start > Programs > Windows Media Player)

If you do not have Windows Media Player you can get it free at: www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/mp10/default.aspx

2. Insert your CD into your computers CD drive.

3. Click the RIP button on Windows Media Player 10.

4. Now let’s make sure you are ripping to the MP3 format.

TOOLS > OPTIONS > RIP MUSIC.

5. Hit the CHANGE button on the right and select your DESKTOP

as the place to put any ripped MP3’s.

6. Under FORMAT use the pull-down box and select MP3.

7. Click OK

8. Now you should be back on the main windows media player RIP menu. Select the checkboxes next to the songs you would like to convert to MP3’s and store on your computer.

Click RIP MUSIC. Wait for the program to do it’s magic (about 10 minutes depending on how many songs you are ripping into MP3’s).

Uploading Your Songs – mp3 Site Reviews

We have reviewed some of the best sites for you to upload your songs to. Each of them will require you to register with a valid email and most of them ask you a slew of questions about your band.

Try to be as forthcoming as possible. Remember that this is the

information all those virtual fans are going to see before they make the decision to check out your online tune. Like anything in promotion, the more, the merrier, so go nuts and get your music on all the sites below and let the automatic promotion machine go to town.

PureVolume.com

Over 100,000 songs hosted through this mp3 giant. The site has a nice community feel, allowing users to keep your songs on a favorites list, upload their photo, and even build friends lists. They typically have 15,000+ fans listening at any given time.

Rating: hhhhh

Comments: Great interface, tons of fans, and cool features for artists.

MySpace.com

Absolutely more than just a place to place your mp3 music or videos but a good place to get started, although it’s approach is a little scattered. This site is huge with the teenie boppers and a good place to get some new fans. You are given an entire page that is easy to customize and a cool little player that rocks your tunes as soon as someone visits.

Rating: hhh

Comments: Super popular site that has more features than anyone other site on the mp3 front. It is more of a community site as opposed to a mp3 listening site.

GarageBand.com

Quick Overview: Over 125,000 bands hosted. An amazing site that allows your peers to rate your tunes. You have access to a band web page where you can place upcoming gigs, your mp3’s, and album art. All this while giving you a chance to win a record deal, studio time, air time on MSN, Yahoo, and other giant online radio stations.

Rating: hhhhh

Comments: A site dedicated to the independent musician. Easy to use and chuck full of cool ways to win some pretty amazing exposure.

HXCMP3.com

An mp3 site dedicated to the hardcore, posthardcore, and metalcore bands. If you’re in this genre you should absolutely upload your song next to the other 18,000 bands that have beat you to the punch.

Rating: hh

Comments: Sub-par design, only serves a small genre, great for hardcore bands though.

Uploading Your Songs – mp3 Site Reviews

We have put together a list of the best sites for you to upload your songs to. Each of them will require you to register with a valid email and most of them ask you a slew of questions about your band.