So you’ve written your bio, done your song insights, and written your fact sheet – you’ve basically done everything you possibly can to tell somebody that your music is completely awesome. But what if people don’t exactly find the praise you’ve lavished on yourself entirely objective? Enter quote sheets.

You see this concept everywhere. Books often begin with a few sheets full of snippets from glowing reviews – movie trailers frequently include lists of film festivals the movie has appeared in. In music, quote sheets perform the same function – to provide external sources of credibility. And remember – for these quotes to provide credibility, the sources you’re quoting should come from somebody who has some name recognition. So who can these quotes come from? To start:

• Writers from publications
• Other musicians
• Staff at radio stations (DJs or program/music directors)
• Bookers or live performance folks
• Engineers or producers you’e worked with
• Record store managers
• Bloggers

As you gain momentum (hopefully) the cachet of your quote sources will improve and the length of your press features will increase – make sure your press materials always reflect the latest and greatest. Presentation is easy – when you’ve got a decent list together, arrange them in descending order of prominence.

My Strategy

These sources work well for 99% of quote sheets. I’m planning on pursuing as many outlets as possible to get quotes from people with name recognition to the general public, but, as context is everything (and because I think it might be interesting), I’m also going to solicit quotes from people whose occupations match the focal points of my songs. Getting prominent people to rave about my music would of course be sublime, but a good quote from a trucker about ‘The Trucker’ would be an intriguing addition to my quote sheet.

The purpose of a press release is to whet the editorial appetites of the news media – tastemakers, journalists, upright bloggers, and anybody else you want interested in your material. To do this, press releases have to be three things:

• Interesting – Press releases should be written in a style that’s equal parts compelling and brief. Use your audience’s time wisely – quickly draw them in, hit them with information in descending level of importance, and leave them itching for more.

• Relevant – Don’t send press releases for kicks – it dilutes the strength of your brand. Send press when you have something to say, like when you have a new release, updated tour dates, a new promotion, or a major change in your website.

• Timely – Send out releases with enough time for media outlets to actually use it. Lead times for media outlets vary from hours to months – best to be conservative and let the importance of the item focused on in the release inform when you send it out.

• Specific – Do yourself a favor and make sure any deadlines, locations, and other clarifying information are clearly spelled out,

• Concise – Assume your audience will read 40% of your release (if that) and skim the rest. Structure accordingly.

Formally, press releases are structured very simply:

• A slug line introduces the content in a headline that is concise and attention-grabbing.

• The lead specifically states the purpose of the press release and serves as an abstract for the piece as a whole. Importantly, it also has the hook – the specific line or phrase designed to catch your audience’s attention.

• The body includes all of the supporting information, organized in descending level of importance.

• The closing summarizes the press release, repeats the critical information, and clearly provides contact information for further inquiry

Ideas for Echo Bloom press releases:
– Play with language – write them more in the style of a 1930’s carnival ad then a 2000’s art project
– Play with the content – Do a releases tied to each song that hype odd tie-ins (like ‘The Trucker’ used as the theme music for the 2009 Annual California Monster Truck Rally)

Any more thoughts? Hit me up in the comments!

Bios and fact sheets are both lovely, but the focus of any effective music promotional materials (unless you’re the Pussycat Dolls) is the music itself. At first blush, this sounds pretty straightforward – throw in a copy of the CD, and check it off your list. But as with everything, the presentation of your materials informs how they are received and consumed. So – two things to keep in mind:

Some more ideas for presenting your music (think of these as being similar to the Special Features on a DVD):

Here are the audio commentaries I recorded for Jamboree’s Big 4:

The Businessman

The English Teacher

The Prostitute

The Preacher

The highest form of navel-gazing, writing about yourself in the third person is something most people (hopefully) have little experience with. The best place to start is looking at exterior examples – so here are some artist biographies, arranged completely subjectively in terms of star power:

ISO50

Fleet Foxes

Okkervil RIver

Cat Power

Yo La Tengo

Aimee Mann

David Byrne

If you browse a few, you’ll see that the tone and style of an artist biography is as variable as its subject. Some are serious, some are flowery – some self-penned, others written by marketing types. But the same two decisions go into each of them:

What you say – The content of your biography varies depending on the audience. Music professionals (like booking or A&R folks) need measurable specifics on your background, accomplishments, and goals. Regular listeners want an insight into your world.

How you say it – Biographies are a direct reflection of the artist, and as such their tone should mirror their subject’s image.

After thinking about it for a while, I decided that there’s no real good way to address the needs of multiple audiences in one document – so I wrote two bios. The listeners bio (destined for the ‘About’ section of the website) is in first person and contains a mixture of relevant info about me and and some brief, general thoughts about music. The professional one addresses issues more more specific to music professionals. Here’s the goods:

Listeners Bio

The Short Answer

Name: Kyle Evans
Location: Los Angeles
Occupation: Artist/Programmer
Echo Bloom?: My musical nom de plume, and the repository for my blog and multimedia work

The long Answer

My name is Kyle Evans and I’m a Los Angeles based multimedia artist and programmer. I created the Echo Bloom site originally to house writing and recordings documenting the creation of my first solo album, ‘Jamboree.’ As the music component evolved and took form, I took Echo Bloom as my moniker and began releasing music under the name. The website is now an even split between an investigation of new tools for creative process, and an outlet for my music and multimedia work – my own little sandbox.

On August 20, 2008 I released ‘Jamboree,’ a series of character studies that explore and celebrate American identity in the 21st century. The music was decidedly Americana, but ran the stylistic gamut – there’s a funk song about a President, a folk song about a prostitute, and a metal song about a preacher. One early review described it as “like Edward Hopper set to music: dark, sparse and compelling.”

My heroes employ a type of reductive clarity in their work. John Cage and Edward Tufte – Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen – Jeff Mangum and Marshall McLuhan. Each speaks with a clearly defined, singular voice. It’s a method I admire and attempt to practice in my own work.

I reside in L.A., where I recently moved to take a position as a flash developer at Topspin. I’ve previously worked as a research scientist at NPR, a ranchhand in New Mexico, and a busboy in Florida. My favorite Beatle is John Lennon.

(n.b. – ‘Short Answer/Long Answer’ shamelessly aped from Tycho/ISO50’s excellent bio)

Press Bio:

Kyle Evans (Echo Bloom) is a Los Angeles based multimedia artist and programmer whose debut solo release, ‘Jamboree,’ has been described as “like Edward Hopper set to music: dark, sparse and compelling.”

The album was inspired by the life’s work of the 20th century German documentary photographer August Sander. Between 1920 and 1948, Sander created a photographic taxonomy of his native village in portraiture, dividing people into groups by occupation (there were skilled tradesmen, artists, the last people, etc.). ‘Jamboree’ takes a similar, but distinctly American approach, telling the stories of, among others, a lonely businessmen at the end of the world, an English teacher caught in the grips of a torrid affair, and a shattered prostitute pondering the fading memories of her life. The songs are explorations and celebrations of life in the beginning of the 21st century – and as much as the pieces are reflections of their subjects, each song is completed only by the perspective given to it by the person listening. As Sander himself once said, “I never make a person look bad; they do that themselves. The portrait is your mirror. It’s you.”

‘Jamboree’ was recorded in a frenetic three-day session in the Washington DC metropolitan area by an accomplished team of jazz session musicians. Evans (guitar, vocals, and production) was joined by Jason Mattis (bass), Shareef Taher (percussion), and Dan Roberts (keyboards). The album was recorded at Omega Studios by Scotty O’Toole. The album is available in a variety of online retail stores and at the Echo Bloom website – http://www.echobloom.com.

The bios are mostly there. The press piece is still a pinch dull, so I’ll probably keep hacking away at it (any suggestions? Hit me up in the comments). But for now – on to the music section of the press kit.

The first section of a press kit is the biographical information (the people you’ll be marketing to will no doubt want to know who’s pulling the strings). Writing a biography of yourself can be a bit daunting, but fortunately there’s a great way to get started – making a fact sheet. Fact sheets are exactly what they sound like – brief, biographical elements condensed into easily digestible bullet points (they’re frequently used as quick references by people pressed for time). They contain the following information:

• Band or Artist Name
• Musical Style
• Location
• Names of Band Members and Instruments Played
• Background Information
• Current Activities and Plans
• Contact Information

They’re way less intimidating than writing a biography, and a quick and painless way to start the ball rolling on a press kit. As the Echo Bloom press materials will be distributed to both physical and digital media, I designed two versions of the press kit. One is a PDF that contains links to relevant sites (pictured below), and the other is a physical copy with all of the links spelled out.

Step 1 – piece of cake. Next, the bio.

Now that we’ve specified the worlds we’ll be marketing to, we need to determine what to send to them. The components of a marketing package are (in descending order of importance):

• Music
• Bios
• Photos
• Fact sheets – fact sheets are basically outlines of biographies. They’re used as talking points by busy radio people who don’t have time to prepare for interviews and by journalists to check quotes.
• Press clips and quote sheets
• Press releases

These pieces are creatively integrated into packages appropriate for each world you’re marketing to. Because each of these worlds are different (with different characteristics, requirements, and attention spans), there should be several different types of packages. The characteristics of the audience to whom we’re marketing should dictate the style of the material they receive. So – let’s look again at our targets, and break them down relative to their marketing criteria.

Virtual – While virtual targets occasionally post physical addresses where artists can direct material, the vast majority rely on email as the primary mode of communication. This delivery mechanism directly informs our content packages (you can’t very well send your CD via email). Our emails can either have marketing components attached (in a compact, clever design) or referenced by external links. Both methods have their benefits and drawbacks – nobody likes getting large email attachments, but with average email open rates around 30% and click-through rates hovering around 7%, the content of the email might be all the attention you get.

Physical – Even though the majority of music marketing is now done digitally, the importance of the physical marketing package cannot be discounted. Many groups only accept physical submissions, and often times a group first contacted by email will request additional physical materials for review. Analog materials also lend an air of legitimacy to a project (I imagine the thinking is that if an artist is together enough to offer well-produced physical materials, their content is together enough to warrant a listen). Physical marketing packages can take many forms – they can be as simple as a sheet of paper, or include elaborate additional promotional materials (R.E.M. sent out an inflatable punching bag for Monster). Physical press kits are much more straightforward than their digital counterparts – they should be cleverly designed, informative, and concise.

These criteria lead to the following marketing packages:

• Basic Physical Kit – all the components listed above in a format ready for the mail.

• Static Digital Kit – this is an excerpt of the marketing materials at a filesize that can be attached to email messages. It includes more information than is available in the email body, but less than a full-fledged digital kit.

• Dynamic Digital Kit – this is a section of the website that contains the complete marketing materials.

• Distributed Digital Kit – in keeping with the theory of distributed web representation, we should have a presence with Sonicbids, the 800 lb. gorilla in electronic press kits (or EPKs).

Now that we’ve got our materials configured, I’m going to take a look at each of the components, then merge the components into the different deliveries. [Also - a note - I'm looking at this experience as less a sprint than a marathon. While it's important to get this material done in a timely fashion, it's far more important to get it done correctly. Thanks for your patience]

• Targets
  • Virtual
    • Static Web – Blogs, Review Sites
    • Broadcast Web – Podcasts, web radio
    • Social Web – MySpace, Facebook, Pandora, Last.fm, etc.
    • Viral Web – Consumer-spread content like widgets or videos
  • Physical(targeted radio stations, flyering)
    • Consumer publications (national, regional, and local – e.g. newspapers, magazines, fanzines, etc.)
    • Music publications (national, regional, and local – e.g. music publications like Spin, Q, Paste, etc.)
    • Radio (Clear channel, satellite radio, public radio, college radio, pirate radio)
    • TV (MTV, VH1, other video sources)
    • Street advertising (showbills, flyers, stickers, signs, etc.)

[Notice that these categories are already expanding - witness the benefits of deliberate planning]

The static web is a diverse and ever swelling world. There are literally thousands of music blogs, all focusing on different things. Some focus on specific genres, others on live performances, others on geography, and others on specific time periods. Some are relatively inclusive (e.g. All Music), while others have editorial boards that screen incoming content (e.g. Pitchfork). Some of the blogs that usually rise to the top in the independent music scene are Stereogum, Aquarium Drunkard, Muzzle of Bees, Gorilla vs. Bear, Catbirdseat, and Largehearted Boy – but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It’s a big world out there.

The broadcast web is the digital equivalent of an analog radio station. But even better than broadcast radio, broadcast web content is usually archived and can be replayed back at a later time. Broadcast web has encompassed many different micromedia in its evolution. What started as streaming music sites (e.g. the Grateful Dead stream) morphed into Podcasts, many of which have gradually mutated into types of social media (more on that later). But there are still many fantastic podcasts that play independent music. Some examples are Coverville, IndieFeed, and NPR’s All Songs Considered podcast.

The social web is divided into two parts – social music services and social networking sites. Social music services are where some of the broadcast web sites really got their wings. Sites like Pandora and Last.fm combine the best parts of broadcast media with the interactivity of social media. Social networking sites (like Facebook, Virb, and the dreaded MySpace) are dynamic websites that allow artists to offer music, news, videos, and other content in a space where fans can interact. While there aren’t as many (at least relevant) social networking sites, the ones that have risen to the top have gigantic user bases, and should be carefully considered in a marketing plan.

The viral web is the land of homebrewed videos and embeddable widgets. It’s all artist-driven, and can be challenging to even pin down. The backyard dance sequence of OK GO’s A Million Ways is the quintessential example of viral web video – homemade, inventive, and cheap. Embeddable widgets are becoming more and more popular (Topspin designed the super-slick David Byrne/Brian Eno widgets for their most album).

Physical targets are significantly more straightforward and commonplace, so don’t warrant individual detail. The important thing to remember about both the physical and the virtual targets is this (and it’s so important I’m putting it in red): the best way to increase the impact of an marketing campaign is to increase its spread. You can use the strengths of your individual brand of music to extend your marketing reach past the purview of solely music publications. I chose the topics of Jamboree to be so broad because they would then apply to a variety of audiences. Musically it’s not just a rock album, or a country project, or a metal thing (although there are all of those songs on it). Thematically, there’s a strong history focus, a photography angle, and an information visualization tack. There are a variety of non-standard media where messaging about Jamboree might get more traction because it’s something the editors don’t see everyday. And hell, it’s easier to stand out submitting music to a trucking magazine than Spin. Let’s be honest.

So – now that we’ve got our targets identified, what are we going to send them? Next up – materials.

So – Jamboree is done and available at a variety of stores. I’m incredibly proud of the final result, and pleased that the deliberate nature of its creation produced such a strong project. But now…the sound of crickets fills the air. My project has joined the ranks of legions of independent releases all vying for recognition in an already crowded scene. It’s time to talk about promotion.

I previously proposed that some relevant marketing concerns for independent musicians were:

• Branding (and keeping it consistent through web, social media, print, releases, business cards, etc.)
• Press Kits
• Virtual PR (web sites, MP3 blogs, reviews, magazines, newspapers, CL, Myspace, social media, etc.)
• Physical PR (targeted radio stations, flyering)
• Viral marketing
• Finding distributed audiences (for me examples would be information visualization, theory)
• Podcasts (creating a podcast, being on a podcast, marketing to podcasts)
• Monthly newsletter

These are all good things to be concerned with, but this list is more a brain dump than a plan of action. Over a series of posts on Scratch I’m going to openly develop and implement a marketing plan for Jamboree targeted at both digital and physical media. Hopefully a deliberate, calculated approach will serve my marketing as well as it has served my content.

First things first – a plan of attack. After thinking about it more, all of the issues of artist promotion fall into three categories: targets, materials, and contacts. An artist directs their materials to a target through a contact. These three categories can be broken down a little further:

• Targets
  • Virtual
    • Static Web – Blogs, Review Sites, Social Media
    • Broadcast Web – Podcasts, web radio, Pandora
    • Viral Web – Consumer-spread content like widgets or videos
  • Physical PR (targeted radio stations, flyering)
    • National, regional, and local consumer publications (e.g. newspapers, magazines, fanzines, etc.)
    • National, regional, local music publications
    • Radio
    • TV
• Materials
  • Media Kit (consistent with branding)
  • Music
  • Bios
  • Fact sheets
  • Photos
  • Press clips and quote sheets
  • Cover letters
  • Folders
  • Press releases
  • Message – how your materials are delivered
• Contacts
  • Internal user driven – e.g. your mailing list
  • Internal artist driven – e.g. contact lists artists maintain
  • External – e.g. contact lists for purchase

As a test I did targeted external mailings to MP3 blogs for 7 days. I sent 10 emails a day directing bloggers to a press download of the album and supplementary material. These messages trickled into posts on the blogs Hype Machine, Instrumental Analysis, and 17 Seconds. It was a tepid foot in the water, but the results were encouraging. A marketing plan that is carefully designed and aggressively implemented should have greater success.

The next post will be about targets – stay tuned.