While cataloging a list of potential music distribution sites, it occurred to me that as musicians, we no longer have to worry about finding a place to sell independent music online. There are TONS of sites that now offer free listings. We just have to determine which ones are legit and how we should sell it.  read more »

A recent post over at the Lefsetz Letter blog about music branding touched a nerve with me; Not because I disagree with what he says, but rather because it hits a little close to home with my little experiment here.  read more »

Several months ago, I downloaded a free 2-disc album from a band that a myspace friend had recommended to me. It has been sitting on my PC since then. I just never got around to listening to it or burning it. It was placed on the "back-burner" (or back CD-burner) while I've been busy doing the "business thing", until today.  read more »

I've always been a die-hard believer in the "whole package" when it comes to selling albums, which probably played a big part in my initial resistance to the digital download movement. Music may be key, but in my opinion the supporting artwork is still very important in helping to tell a story or establish a mood.  read more »

I just finished creating an online tool that checks to see how "market-friendly" a band name might be, based on the guidelines I had presented in my "Naming the Band" series of posts.  read more »

I recently read about a new musical search engine called Midomi. It allows you to search for songs by singing or humming the tune into a microphone. I don't have a microphone hooked up to this PC right now, so I can't comment on its accuracy, but it sure sounds like a slick idea (if it works).  read more »

This will (hopefully) be the last in this series of posts regarding the naming of bands. Bands certainly have their work cut out for them if they are to follow through with all of these guidelines. Or they could pay a trademark lawyer to do it for them. Here's a quick recap...

Ideally, you want to find a band name that:
- is unique and hasn't been used before  read more »

Now that I've covered what not to do with your band name, and how to avoid potential trademark infringement and moniker marketing roadblocks, let's discuss the creative aspects of naming a band. This is usually the fun part.  read more »

Not having a good band name is like not having earplugs at a gig with a crappy sound guy. You can probably deal with the ensuing headache, but eventually you're going to experience permanent damage of some sorts. In the case of band names, a bad one can confuse your fans, put you at the receiving end of a lawsuit, or get your act blacklisted.  read more »

Another potential pitfall when choosing a name for a band, and one that I can discuss with experience, is the habit of taking on a misspelled version of a word as a band name. I can't tell you how many times I have had my project "Testube" listed as "Testtube" or "Test-tube" in various magazines, playlists, and even emails from fans.  read more »

If you've made it this far, you've got a potentially unique band name that you've been unable to find any reference to on the internet or in local record stores. Before you run off and hire a font-happy Photoshopper to start working on the logo, there are a number of other factors to consider. Hopefully you aren't too married to that moniker just yet.  read more »

Although the primary purpose of this blog is to focus on internet-based music promotion, we can't entirely ignore the physical music industry, especially when deciding on a new band name. It's easy to get "tunnel vision" when working on the internet, and to forget the "real" world, but an established band is an established band (whether they exist on the internet or not).  read more »

It is important to understand that there is no way to guarantee that the band name you are choosing hasn't been used before. Regardless of how much research you have done, there's always some guy sitting in his mother's basement (in his bathrobe) who had his five seconds of fame in the form of a demo review in an ancient issue of Cream magazine.  read more »

Gone are the days when a band's name was decided one late night after a jam session by tossing around ideas between band members. Thanks to the "global market" of the internet, an extremely thorough research is now required to ensure (as much as possible) that you aren't stepping on someone else's toes when you go to pick that moniker.  read more »

Initial posts are overrated. You can read all about this site on the static "about" page.