2) Make sure people can easily find out how to find those resources.

3) Word of Mouth is best the form of promotion! Give them something to talk about

4) Get involved with your local Music scene. Go along to local Gigs, see other Bands, get to know promoters and network.

5) Get some Business Cards done, vistaprint.com offer 250 for free!

6) Brand your Music, get an eye catching logo designed.

7) Set up a mailing list, notifylist.com, aardvarkmailinglist.net, yourmailinglistprovider.com, freelists.org

8 Set up a Blog wordpress.com www.blogger.com and write about your Music, other Music anything that will pull in readers. Make sure you write about well known artists similar to your Music style, by doing this you will attract fans for that artist and will then be able to market your Music to those fans.

9) Get involved in Music sites, forums and internet radio. There are hundreds of Music sites available and some of them only concentrate on certain music styles. Target the small ones and they will love to have you onboard, then the big sites will follow suit. Music forums are also brilliant for promoting music, include your website links in your signature and your traffic will grow.

10) Keep your fans updated. Read my article on how to do this easily

11) Start a video advertising campaign, upload videos to youtube.com, vimeo.com and www.muzu.tv. Ideally you want to upload music videos, if you don’t have one then create video blogs talking about your music or reviewing other artists that are similar to you. For example if your Music sounds a lot like The Beatles then review The Beatles or make a video which has a connection with the Beatles. Include your website details at the end of the video and in the Descriptions and Tags that go along with the video. This way whenever someone searches for the beatles, your video has a chance of appearing and interest will lead them to your site. Another handy tip is to also have your username as your domain name. For example my username on youtube is rocklinkscouk.

12) Get more Twitter followers, the average rule with twitter is the more people your follow the more followers you get back. Tweetadder.com is a really cool tool to automate the process of following people, not only that you can also target certain twitter members by interests and location. For example a keyword could be Music, and a location Portsmouth, tweet adder will then find users in Portsmouth who have the keywords music in their profile. Now you should be able to see the awesome power of this tool!

13) Add a Twitter widget to your Website or Myspace. Login to your Twitter account and click on Gadgets at the bottom.

14) Create a page on Facebook so people can be come a fan. Invite all your friends to become a fan.

15) Add a Facebook Page widget to your website, so your website users can become a fan.

16) Be social on your social networks

17) Start a local magazine? Like our good friend Nick J Townsend did

18) By a shed load of custom printed t-shirts and give them out for free. When everyone turns up at your gig in the same t-shirt it really attracts attention. I know for a fact this works as I have done this on a number of occasions.

19) Appear on Videos and TV, a prime time slot on itv3 might be hard to come by but not impossible (there are loads of big name acts who have been discovered this way). If your not lucky enough to get these opportunities then create your own, send emails to film organizations, art councils and anyone involved with film. You can also attract attention by contacting small film companies and another good idea is to contact extreme sports style websites who create sports videos.

20) Create a lens (a page) at squidoo.com it really does create a wealth of traffic for your site

21) Create a decent Press Release, I personally feel press packs have become extinct. If someone is seriously interested in working with your Music the first place they will go is your myspace or website.

22) Contact Newspapers and Magazines

23) Offer freebies everyone loves Badges and Stickers!

24) Get out on the streets and talk to people about your Music, invite them to you upcoming Gigs.

25) Contact Radio stations, radio is a massive asset to promoting Music. Luckily there is a lot of National and Local Radio stations opening their doors to unknown Artists. Use this to your full advantage.

26) Get involved with a charity. By scratching their back they will also scratch yours.

27) Create an account at eventful.com

28) Start a text service, like the t-mobile advert or using a service such as txtlocal.com

29) Make people feel apart of what your doing, you should make time for everyone who comes along to your gigs.

30) Contact build, it’s what makes the Music Industry work.

31) Start a facebook event for every gig. This has always been successful for my own gigs you can also persuade other people to invite their friends. Make sure you do periodic status updates reminding people of the gig.

32) Go round local Music Shops, get to know the staff and ask if you can leave some promo gear in the shop. I find a lot of music shops actively try to promote the local music scene.

33) Create a Last.fm account!

34) Start podcasting, they weirdly attract a lot of attention.

35) Pay a professional photographer to take some snaps of you.

36) Get your Music reviewed

37) Get Interviewed

38) Place carefully positioned Posters around your local area, cafes, bars, clubs, venues ect

39) Flyers are handy when used effectively. I wouldn’t suggest handing them out willy nilly. Use them to your advantage at Gigs, leave them on tables, at the bar, hand them to people as they leave a venue. If your Band is playing that night then great, if someone likes your music they will more than likely pick up a flyer and keep hold of it.

40) Get involved with local Music sites

41) Leave a comment below with a link to your website. If you have another method of Promoting Music that I haven’t mentioned above then please add it below.

I happen to know a few all Lesbian girl Bands, imagine walking past a poster with the words “Band name! The all Lesbian Girl Band”. It provokes interest to read more!

Have you been featured on a National or Local Radio Station? In my local area we have Heart FM, although i don’t think they actually play Unsigned Acts i’m sure other local Radio Stations do, so again “Band Name! As featured on Radio FM”.

Maybe your age is a key factor? Maybe you under 16? Maybe your over 60? Again this provokes interest.

Maybe your a Country/Electronic/Funky/Banjo Playing act? Now that i would like to see!

Other key selling Points
Genre style, Size (maybe you have 8 Band members), fashion, bizarre instruments used, connection with a charity, jedward hairstyles, Free Music, Cover Songs, Endorsements, maybe your all born in the same city / town? (people love to support local people), basically anything that sets you apart from the rest that people can relate to or would want to know more about.

Once you have identified your key selling points, make sure they are the first thing anyone reads, your Myspace, Website, Press Releases, Artwork, Posters, Facebook, Twitter, i’m sure your getting the picture. Like i have previously said, you have about 10 seconds to ‘catch’ the persons attention, choose your selling points wisely and the rewards will be more interest in your Music, it’s guaranteed and has been used by marketers since the first roman sandal hit the south coast!

Greetings Rocklinks….
This is Nick J.Townsend from BasementSound Radio, the world’s most underground internet radio station. This is a special column exclusive to Rocklinks.co.uk, every month I’m going to talk about some of the best underground artists that get featured on www.basementsound.co.uk and I know what I’m talking about. I’m not here to sell shares in record companies, I’m here to reveal who’s making the music that real people listen to. Nuff said…

THE ROCKET DOLLS (Brighton / United Kingdom)
http://www.therocketdolls.com
http://www.myspace.com/therocketdollsmusic
Now if you are going to stand out you need to get peoples attention. This British three piece Alternative Post Grunge Riff Metal band not only have a great image but write songs that make you want to kick down your front door and scream (which in my opinion is a good thing as it sure let’s your neighbours know who’s got the best CD collection). Catchy riffs, pounding grove beats and the Basslines are slick. Infact this is great music to f**k to, trust me I’m an expert. ‘BLEEDING THE SHAME’ and ‘DELIRIUM’ are good examples of why this band will get girls pregnant.

MOZART KHADAFFI (Denmark)
http://www.mozartkhadaffi.com
http://www.myspace.com/mozartkhadaffi
Imagine Marilyn Manson meets Mr. Bungle. Yes this is a wild child orchestra. Possibly one of my favorite underground bands too. Alternative Industrial Metal Rock with attitude and I f**king mean attitude with a lot of style and originality (it’s not clever to swear but sometimes it’s necessary to prove a point). This is a mindwarp of influences wrapped up in organized chaos. Mean guitars, insane beats, great theatrical vocals and all done with excellence. ‘DEAD CAN WALK’ is the best example if you’re new to this act. It’s got everything you need in one song. There’s one bit in the song which is the best scream I’ve ever felt like screaming along to. This music will open your mind.

STRIPPING THE PISTOL (Chicago / United States)
http://www.strippingthepistol.com/
http://www.myspace.com/strippingthepistol
Chicago makes some great music and this band sure does prove that. BLACK REFLECTIONS is the song by STRIPPING THE PISTOL that woke me up and made me masturbate more times in a single day than advised to me by the sex experts on TV. It’s a great tune. I was pleased to find out they wrote a load more cool songs as well. So kiddies if you are going to lock the bedroom door with your iPod on then this is the band for you. Great vocals and lyrics, atmospheric guitars, brutal and yet gentle at times, some great riffs and great melodies. For a Metal Rock band they provide a full package of treats. Great band name too. Hell yeah!

…..Right, that’s the first three bands I’m going to introduce you to. Short but sweet. Think about it, I’ve just told you about three bands who are going to be included in your record collection. These are all world class artists for different reasons. No f**king around here. The underground may well be filled with music but only those that display originality and balls make it to my column. You can hear all these bands on www.basementsound.co.uk but more importantly you can go and watch them Live, download their music, write about them and get a fucking tattoo of them on your arm. This is Nick J.Townsend signing off. END OF MESSAGE.

Visit Basementsound.co.uk

RnB mega star Shola Ama has just confirmed her place on the judging panel at the Live and Unsigned Festival!

Billed as one of Britain’s most successful RnB artists, Shola will be taking her place on the judging panel in July and casting her eye over some of the UK’s best unsigned talent. The London based singers debut album Much Love sold over one million copies and she enjoyed chart success with the top five singles You Might Need Somebody and You’re The One I Love.

The culmination of her critical and commercial success resulted in four MOBO nominations with Shola going on to collect two awards for Best Newcomer and Best RnB. She also impressed the industry and her fans when she was nominated for two Brit awards, taking home the title of Best British Female.

Amongst her many achievements within the music industry, Shola has collaborated on the Glamma Kid single Taboo, reworking the Sade classic to make it her own and scoring her another top ten single. She released her sophomore album, the critically acclaimed In Return, co-writing 11 of the 16 tracks with a host of international writers and producers. She’s worked with legendary names like Darkchild, Babyface, Stargate, Ali Shaheed Muhhammed, Angie Stone and Shaun Labelle. Her single Imagine remixed by Asylum, went on to become one of the biggest club singles of the noughties. Shola co-wrote her third album, Supersonic, which is one of her most personal works to date. Chris Grayston, Events Director of Live and Unsigned, commented, It’s very exciting to have one of the UK’s best RnB acts involved in the competition. She’s had huge chart success, spent years in the studio and knows exactly what it’s like to be in the spotlight. I’m confident that her appearance on the judging panel will be popular! I’m sure most of the acts in the Urban category of the competition will want to ask her lots of questions!

Shola is now back in the studio once again, writing tracks for her fourth studio album, due for release on independent label Dirty Canvas. The new single DJ Play has already received great reviews and lots of airplay! And of course, watch out for her at the Live and Unsigned Festival!

With an extensive background in music and a thirst for unsigned, fresh acts in the UK, Vic’s knowledge and experience is sure to be a hit on the panel!

Currently fronting the BBC Introducing show in Scotland, Vic is obsessed with unsigned and established musicians. He was launched into the world of music after he witnessed his first live concert by The Damned, and as his obsession grew so did his record collection!

Vic began his career as a musician himself. He immersed himself in Rock ‘n’ Roll when he left school and set out to form a band, get into recording and perform music. And to prove his dedication, he busked his way around Europe for 6 months.

Vic moved onto to working on the other side of the industry, writing for fanzines, working as a venue lighting director in Edinburgh, helping to set up and develop independent labels and working as a press and radio promoter. It was when he was prompted to make a tape for his new regional Radio 1 show that he moved onto the airwaves.

Hayley Stovold, Press Officer for Live and Unsigned commented, “It’s fantastic news that Vic’s joining us for the 2010 live shows, he’s a very influential name. He’s already so busy with the station and his packed out events! He’ll be joining a few other famous names from the world of unsigned music, so we’re sure lots of bands will want to ask him lots of questions about the industry! And let’s face it; he’s always after new bands so some bands might even get played on his show!”

Nowadays, Vic fronts the Introducing show in Scotland and also writes and produces his own music – he’s currently working with prog-pop pioneers Deaf Mutes and punk band Family Man. You’ll also find Vic co-running a club night at the Glasgow Barfly every Friday, called the Funhouse. He’s been pulling in crowds of over 400 people for the last three years. He also spends a lot of time DJ’ing in clubs and writing a freelance column for The List magazine.

Vic lives in Edinburgh , likes getting tattooed, eats spicy food and wants World peace…

For more information on Live and Unsigned please visit http://www.rocklinks.co.uk/music-competitions/live-and-unsigned-2010-the-largest-national-music-competition-for-band-singers-and-musicians

My Endeavour are back with a new sound and NEW single ‘The Fallen’ – Released digitally worldwide today !

The Fallen is a powerful and emotive hard rock track written for all those that have died fighting for our freedom. Hand picked to be played on Florida’s KRRadio and the BFBN Network this single is starting to generate some serious buzz.

“We’re impressed. Seriously. This is probably one of the best submissions we have had in a long ass time”.
– DJ Killer, KRRadio

“This rock track demonstrates how to squeeze a ton of epic sincerity into a short but brilliant single.4/5″
– Steve, The Mag

“My Endeavour instil the weighty feel of post-grunge rock in ‘The Fallen’ – and the lyrics are equally deep in this massive track.. Throughout the song things build up very gradually, eventually hitting a storming instrumental with a solo that contributes to the sober and emotive feel of the track.”.

Purchase the song today from itunes, amazon mp3 & more !

For more information please visit, www.myendeavour.com

How did the Band first get together?
We were trying to form a band with 17 bassists, one drummer and a lad called Roki on violin, along came the first practice and the only people to turn up were me (Andrew), Dom (drummer) and bassist Graham, who had just bought a guitar for shits, giggles and posing opportunities. We wrote Intergalactic Sulk and Trust No One, talked about boobs and chose a name, ZEEB? was born. By the next morning we had a website and no plan to take the musical morning after pill to save us from the previous night’s musical conception.

What makes you different to other Bands?
We’re unrestricted by genre, pressure, shame or personal hygiene.

Do you think there is enough opportunities for Bands to get noticed?
He who makes the loudest noise, will indeed get the recognition he so richly deserves. Or in our case, we just bung our stuff on MySpace.

What are your views on the current Music scene?
We prefer the raisin music scene, a far superior dried fruit. We’re not fans of the winkle-picker identikit bands that look like they’ve all self spawned in some sort of soggy biscuit circle jerk that ends with them giving each other mad haircuts with jizz drenched scissors.

Do you prefer buying CD’s to Downloads? Explain why
We all still like the artwork you get with CDs but don’t see any harm in downloading tracks first to try them. After all you wouldn’t marry without checking the goods would you, unless it’s like in that film ‘The Crying Game’.

How did you get your first booking for a gig?
Unlike other bands we don’t sit around writing songs about feelings waiting for promoters to beat down our door, we put on gigs ourselves, and after this promoters did start booking us.

Do you have a favorite Unsigned Band?
The term ‘unsigned’ is utterly irrelevant to us, record deals are obstacles to everything creative. When it costs so little to get your stuff online why bother giving 95% of your profits to the schmoozy shareholders of EMI? For bands why not try www.myspace.com, I hear it’s the new mp3.com

Do you use social networking to promote your Band? Do you find i effective?
Social Networking has opened up a world of opportunities, but we’re not foolish enough to ignore offline methods though, word of mouth is important – one recommendation from a drunk bloke in a pub is worth more than a thousand hits on a website.

Do you agree with TV shows such as X-factor?
It’s licenced degradation; in the early stages viewers revel in failure, it’s like being a cheering crowd member at the execution of a lamb in a neon slaughter house (but it is fucken funny). It’s sad that people outside the music scene think shows like Pop Idiot and Next-Factor embody music, and are a reliable gauge of musical quality. How many times have we heard people we know say “oh we’ll see you on x-factor” when they find out about our band, and each time we die a little on the inside. People making that assumption is like losing your virginity then having a nun compare it to sexual interference with large knitting needles. Nuns are known for having dirty habits.

How would you change the UK Music Industry?
People that profit from music without any talent of their own should be punished in the same way as rouge traders.

Where do you see your Music in 12 months time?
Where it is now, on itunes, MySpace Music and Amazon MP3. Musically I think we’re going to do a PROPER metal EP, using 80s television as a motif.

To summarise you should probably buy our album and further fund our research into dark unspeakable things that will improve your lives – www.zeeb.co.uk

More Zeeb?