SFTRAXX
West Coast Rap Producer
IMO Because its a waste of time and money if you don't have a solid fanbase and nobody's searching for you yet. Its ideal for you (until you become sought after) to put yourself where the seekers seek.
IMO Because its a waste of time and money if you don't have a solid fanbase and nobody's searching for you yet. Its ideal for you (until you become sought after) to put yourself where the seekers seek.
![[F_or_DEAF]](https://img.futureproducers.com/avatars/m/150/150788.jpg?1725613854){kind=avatar}
[F_or_DEAF]
New member
yeah...
and that's why cats prolly don't branch out and make their own sites...because of the whole, "if it ain't broke, why try to fix it" concept...right?
and that's why cats prolly don't branch out and make their own sites...because of the whole, "if it ain't broke, why try to fix it" concept...right?
B
barrettj
New member
explains why everyone in the top ten sounds the same too except there are many who see it as a broken ass system they just dont care or wont admit it is
N
NoVA Entertainment
Guest
Really? Maybe you're right in the sense that is what everyone else's opinion on the matter is.
But it makes me laugh my a$$ off...how are people going to search for you when you don't have anything to search for?
Waste of time and money? These are the same people that don't want to learn their craft and not even pay for a $20 non exclusive license. Which is roughly about the cost to maintain a music store online lol.
Ridiculous.
The website is supposed to BUILD your fanbase. This is where you have ALL of your youtube videos, your twitter posts, you DLs, your blog posts etc. This is where people go to find you. If they go to a youtube page there is that whole entire list of other videos on the side and after your video plays. If your video is great and has a link to your page then this is going to be key to get those people onto your site and not on to another youtube page or soundclick page or whatever.
Your own website should be better than just a youtube page...it needs to be your own social network hub where you also do business and get paid.
Also...when you do have a website...guess where you tell your fans to go when you do a show or are out in public anywhere? You hand them a free DL card from your website and get them to your page where they CAN'T be distracted by ANYONE else but whatever you have on your own page. Whatever you want to get them to remember to check out your web space.
You can't even go to youtube.com without seeing 100 feature video thumbs on the home screen, so before they even type in your name you are competing with those from the get go. (I keep saying youtube and soundclick, but this refers to ANY social network because that is how they are all designed.)
The time and money it takes to build this is little to nothing. And that's compared to ALL business that exist today lol. If you can't do this then I don't know how you survive in today's economy.
EVERY f'n business needs to have their own web space. Why would an independent artist be any different? lol. I mean come on...do I need to list how much physical corporations make online alone?
You have to have online shopping available for your fans just as bad as if not more than having a merch table at your show. All you are building is MORE opportunity for people to buy you without competing with joe shmo ranked 936746234 on soundclick who decided to pay for a feature. Who btw paid close to $20? The cost of having YOUR OWN SITE.
Ridiculous.
There is a reason every major corporation has an online presence. I just listed not even half the benefits of having your own site.
Get on the ball people if you are trying to do this for real....just like in any other business it takes time and it takes money lol. If they can't understand that then they aren't even my competition in the first place...these are the people that I will never hear about...neither will my fans....neither will any of you.
N
NoVA Entertainment
Guest
This concept is very deceptive for beginning entrepreneurs. I say "If it ain't broke, then this is the easiest time to make it better."
Personal website > soundclick page.
In business you don't want to settle. Soundclick is the definition for settling. Lets think about this...these people are joining a website that gives millions of songs EQUAL opportunity. Does that sound like good business to you? AND THEN, you have people paying $ for features when they could have used that same amount of money to build their OWN site and STILL have a soundclick/youtube/facebook/myspace/ustream that simply links people away and straight to your website.
If something isn't broke then there are probably millions doing THAT. You have to find a way to do something more.
A website is one of many keys to helping that happen.
After your website is done, there will be other doors you will have to unlock but you will soon find that at the same time, you have created many other keys that work in those doors that 90% of the people you WERE competition with won't even get to see because they decided to stay content with their spot, side by side with the other millions trying to "make it" on soundclick or youtube or whatever.
Is it possible to make it through sc or youtube? Yes...through making better music than EVERYONE else that the traffic listens to AND have better marketing than the other millions on there as well.
I don't know about you but I'd rather just set myself apart and cut through the bs. AND i'm still going to make better music and have better marketing.
The idea isn't to fix anything...the idea is taking everything that works and combining them together into a better business model AKA improvement.
B
barrettj
New member
excellent points but the general motto of everything now is try and do the least amount of work and get paid the most...your own site you need to maintain it take care of all graphics html etc. and promote the **** out of it i 100 percent agree on doin this tho...however a 17 yr. old who is not cut out to even be trying to conduct business wont do any of this they will take the shortcut soundclick is already established the most work they need to do is is keep updating tracks and spamming there page anywhere they can...most soundclick dudes are in it for only $$$ they find an excuse for anything and really dont care about payin dues and makin a presence, most will probally not even produce past the 4-5 year mark there bandwagon producers once soundclick dries up so will they...
SFTRAXX
West Coast Rap Producer
I agree that everyone should have their own webspace/website eventually but if you are just starting out, you will lose money if you don't have a strong following to begin with. And even those with a following struggle to succeed after launching their site if their marketing/networking game isn't up 2 par.
[F_or_DEAF]
New member
excellent point
[F_or_DEAF]
New member
yet another good point...
N
NoVA Entertainment
Guest
Yeah, basically these few points will be factored into what is setting apart the hobbyist/amateur from the professionals with an online presence.
Updating your business with a webpage will definitely be something someone more established and confident will do to help them get them to that next level. These people are the ones who probably already have their local grind on lock.
Still, I want to say this as well though...
I truly believe that there are very talented people out there who actually do have the confidence in their music and even have a local following but still haven't taken that step. I'm really talking to those people, not the 12 year old with FL who makes beats after school.
There are a lot of people who want to and have the product quality to turn their music into a career but don't know how to generate profits through the online world.
They think "well if I give away a free mixtape and have a video on youtube with me making the mixtape, I will sell my album because it is that good." And that's far from the case, although I am not recommending against doing that. It's the same situation I was describing earlier with having a website vs. not having one. You gotta look at what most people are doing and then take whatever is working and go a step or three beyond.
There are tools available to change how your business is ran online for those people who haven't quite embraced the digital medium as a key source of income...a source that can be equal to or greater than your booking schedule.
I actually plan on helping people out with this as soon as I'm done helping myself first. I'm basically going to have all of the tools and resources I've gathered over the Internet over the past couple years and have them in one single spot for people to find.
These are things I KNOW everyone around here at least are sleeping on because I've not heard a single mention of 90% of them and the funny thing is 100% of them are free tools...they cost nothing, but give you the capability of virtually anything in terms of having a legit online music business.
I noticed you mentioned graphics and html about the web design aspect. That too really isn't and issue anymore. It really hasn't been for about a year or more now. There are plenty of ways to build a fully functional music business site with all the trimmings with zero knowledge of html. And I actually reccommend against using a lot of graphics. These pages need to only have font, pictures, video, downloads and a color that makes everything easy to see. All of that stuff just requires simple embedding and filling in the blanks.
The only part that gets complicated is the way you incorporate everything into a nice clean layout and how to link everything back to your main page for SEO. Also making sense of your site's analytics to know what on your page is working and what isn't in terms of visitor interaction with your content.
Those are the kinds of things that make a difference with a soundclick and a real website. And it gets deeper and deeper with each application you add, but I plan to make it plain and simple to understand how I did everything once I'm finished with this one. Probably will be in the form of a video series with links to all of the resources.
Updating your business with a webpage will definitely be something someone more established and confident will do to help them get them to that next level. These people are the ones who probably already have their local grind on lock.
Still, I want to say this as well though...
I truly believe that there are very talented people out there who actually do have the confidence in their music and even have a local following but still haven't taken that step. I'm really talking to those people, not the 12 year old with FL who makes beats after school.
There are a lot of people who want to and have the product quality to turn their music into a career but don't know how to generate profits through the online world.
They think "well if I give away a free mixtape and have a video on youtube with me making the mixtape, I will sell my album because it is that good." And that's far from the case, although I am not recommending against doing that. It's the same situation I was describing earlier with having a website vs. not having one. You gotta look at what most people are doing and then take whatever is working and go a step or three beyond.
There are tools available to change how your business is ran online for those people who haven't quite embraced the digital medium as a key source of income...a source that can be equal to or greater than your booking schedule.
I actually plan on helping people out with this as soon as I'm done helping myself first. I'm basically going to have all of the tools and resources I've gathered over the Internet over the past couple years and have them in one single spot for people to find.
These are things I KNOW everyone around here at least are sleeping on because I've not heard a single mention of 90% of them and the funny thing is 100% of them are free tools...they cost nothing, but give you the capability of virtually anything in terms of having a legit online music business.
I noticed you mentioned graphics and html about the web design aspect. That too really isn't and issue anymore. It really hasn't been for about a year or more now. There are plenty of ways to build a fully functional music business site with all the trimmings with zero knowledge of html. And I actually reccommend against using a lot of graphics. These pages need to only have font, pictures, video, downloads and a color that makes everything easy to see. All of that stuff just requires simple embedding and filling in the blanks.
The only part that gets complicated is the way you incorporate everything into a nice clean layout and how to link everything back to your main page for SEO. Also making sense of your site's analytics to know what on your page is working and what isn't in terms of visitor interaction with your content.
Those are the kinds of things that make a difference with a soundclick and a real website. And it gets deeper and deeper with each application you add, but I plan to make it plain and simple to understand how I did everything once I'm finished with this one. Probably will be in the form of a video series with links to all of the resources.
N
NoVA Entertainment
Guest
You're definitely right about that. This step is for someone who
1. Has a catalog of music
2. Has learned the proper marketing/networking skills
3. Has an idea of how to use those skills to create their brand
These aren't easy tasks...they are the hardest. This is what a music label does. They help you create your catalog by throwing a bunch of producers and writers on your team. They know the marketing and own the network. And they do everything in their power to create a new brand with your face on it. Now you are on your own to do those things and people just don't get that.
I think having my bachelors in Mass Comm helped me get to where I am now.
But really, I don't think you even need a huge following just to have a website...
By family owns a beauty supply business on the east coast. My mom opened up the largest beauty supply store in VA and followed that up a year later with an even bigger one.
When she opened that first store she had no following. What she saw was a hole in the market. Sure there were dozens of other stores for that in the area, but she saw what products were selling in each one and which ones weren't. She combined all of the good things from each store and made a superstore basically. But here is the kicker...she added a salon on the side as well.
This launched her store immediately into the spotlight and it became number one. From that she created her fanbase. It's like the fans are there, you just haven't said hello yet. Her store was the "HELLO...I KNOW WHAT YOU REALLY WANT."
You have to do the same with your music. What holes do you see currently? If you see holes, that's room for you to fit in to take care of the fans that dwell in those holes. And at the same time you take what is already working in the areas that are filled.
Once you have that all planned out, then you make your store and simply say hello.
The same thing needs to be done with your plan of income. Which is basically told to you through your analytics of your site. You see where you are making money whether it's e-tickets, ringtones, shirts whatever and adjust your marketing accordingly (not going to tell you what to do past that haha).
But yeah, basically you have to sort of get a feel for the market and see what fans are there that WILL become your fans. Then do those things that you feel get those type of people's attention. Then instead of opening a bigger store like my mom did, you simply start doing local shows in the regions your music is selling (Another feature I have that soundclick, facebook, youtube, whatever doesn't)
So really I don't feel that not having a strong following should be holding anyone back. Everything starts without a following. It's just up to you to find your own group of people that are looking for a leader and cater to them from day one...that is IF you are the type of person that is a leader. Because from that day on your life changes into someone that a lot of people are paying attention to and you have to give that attention back equally in today's music business model.
It's all about fan/artist interaction from day one. You basically have to know who your fans are before they even meet you.
SFTRAXX
West Coast Rap Producer
I
ItsELRey
New member
If soundclick producers got hurt from this video then laugh out loud. If you are confident and know you do not fall in that category then there is no need to get hostile. Who ever said I steal beats is a moron, (That is what I understood) I only download free beats which is why I was complaining about tags. Tags should only be placed in the beginning of the beat, or right before it drops. (If it is a free download) I can go through pages and pages on soundclick and 80% of the beats sound the same. This video was mostly made for promotion though, just something to slap on youtube, gain viewers etc. I honestly like some soundclick producers, you just have to dig deep for beats. If it was not for soundclick me and tons of other rappers would not even have music.
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SFTRAXX
West Coast Rap Producer
Smithgrind137
SATbeats.com
beggars can't be choosers. You have no right to complain, it's free, be grateful. Besides, free DLs are for promotion, but they are also so that customers can listen to the beats when they are not on the internet and can take their time to decide if they want to buy a lease.
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ItsELRey
New member
What the hell? I have no right to complain... Are you serious? It's my mouth, I can say what I want, I think... I'm not even sure anymore. Everything I do is for promotion use only, I haven't sold anything. When the time comes for me to actually make an album that I will sell there will be no doubt in my mind that I will buy the beats. So for now I will keep complaining about over tagged beats.
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Smithgrind137
SATbeats.com
well... you can... but if yo momma raised you right you wouldn't. ever heard the expression "don't look a gift horse in the mouth?" basically the producers are giving you something and despite being the almighty El Rey, you aren't entitled to free beats. Be happy so many producers offer them and don't complain because they arent the way you want them. they're free, if you want them with out tags there is a very easy way to solve that. buy the lease.
what you're doing is essentially the same as this scenario:
I go to cosco and the nice old lady at the booth offers me a hot pocket sample. so im like fuck yeah sounds delicious, but then im like what the fuck is this bitch? cuz that slut just gave me a little piece of the hotpocket on a napkin. now im enraged. i've been drinking muscle milk all day watchin old hulk hogan videos gettin psyched to go to costco and this skank just shit all over my pride. so i flip over that skanks booth and break it into little pieces while screaming about how hot pockets taste just like bagel bites and bagel bites taste just like red baron mini pizzas. we get it, its all dough, cheese, and marinara sauce. but god dammit im not profiting off hot pockets so why should I pay for them. And how dare that bitch say shes giving away something for free when the free thing is less appealing than the thing that i would have to break a $20 get.
you are just another crazy man who found his way into costco trying to get seconds on the free samples. nahmean?
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ItsELRey
New member
Sorry, I stopped reading shortly after you brought my mother into this. I never said I was almighty, only God is, that is blasphemy. I have a title to my own opinion even if the beats are free, it does not mean I cannot express myself. All I am saying is... if you are going to tag a beat all over then it becomes unusable and it defeats the purpose of it being a free download.
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SFTRAXX
West Coast Rap Producer
Obitheincredible
Your Mom's Best Friend!!!
Yeah people do that to protect the beat cause you can't loop it and say its yours.