New Digital Music Biz Article: Do You Need A Website?!

[mr.shadeed]

Welcome to “The New Digital Music Biz”. This blog focuses on the latest trends in the technology industry that are changing the music industry as we once knew it. I want to point out that this is your blog, which means if you have any digital technology related questions, they will be answered quickly and directly by me. The questions with the most detail will be posted on wordofsouth.com with my answer or recommendations. My policy is 100% open-door. Please send all questions to [e-mail].

Once again, I’d like to say thank you to all the supporters and readers of
The New Digital Music Biz. To all my aspiring artists, you would honestly be surprised at who is actually reading these words. Wordofsouth.com has such a diverse artist community ranging from artists who have sold 2 million or more records down to the next underground king or consistent independent artists across the U.S.
The questions I get from artists and management trying to take advantage of the digital world is showing me that we are moving in the direction with this blog.

Special thanks to DJ Fusion and the Fusebox Radio show for a great interview just recently. Her questions encouraged me to talk about a lot of good information that will benefit her many, many listeners. By the time you read this, I’ll also have been interviewed by Real Talk Radio hosted by Baltimore’s own Shaka Pitts aka Spitts McMann.

You should perform a Google search on both radio shows and find out more about them.

Internet radio is the future of broadcasting and you heard it here first! Almost every top 40 radio station in the country is starting to podcast their mixshows and even record the interviews and put them on their respective station’s website, which is a sign of things to come. As advertising dollars continue to plummet at radio stations across the country, many stations are becoming multimedia outlets in the race to stay relevant in a new digital marketplace.

How does this change in the media market affect you?

It’s time to recognize the power you possess. As an artist or up-and-coming label, you have the power, ability, and necessary resources to do the same thing they are doing. The playing field between majors and unsigned is starting to level out.

7/21 – Using Social Networking Concepts to Build Your Business Enterprise by Mr.Shadeed

That’s right Word-of-South, I’ll be speaking live as part of my New Digital Library Tour to promote awareness of our most undervalued community resource: The Public Library. The ironic thing is that the internet and new technology is killing our kids’ interest in the library which is why I’m hosting it at libaries, to generate that interest once again.

The first date is in Baltimore, MD at the Woodlawn Public Library. I’ll be working my way up to Philly back down to VA through the 7 Cities and to North/South Carolina

and Louisville and Tennessee are looking really promising as far as future dates on the tour.

Do You ‘Need’ A Website to Make An Impact in the Digital Music Era?
This is a question I’ve been going back and forth with for quite some time. The first question I ask any artist or manager that I consult about Web Design is “WHY”??

***If I meet with a potential client and he/she can’t articulate concrete reasons why they would benefit from having a website, then I don’t recommend that they spend the time, effort, and capital needed to build one.

Lil’ Wayne did not sell 1 million records and tons of “Lollipop” ringtones using the internet as a primary marketing strategy. He actually succeeded using the “old” hip-hop business model of mixtapes, leaked songs to DJs, and remaining visible through guest appearances.

This is the exact strategy that made Big Punisher the first Latin rapper to go platinum 10 years ago, so there are certain aspects of the game that do remain the same as all the working pieces of the music business begin to shift to digital.

I believe the whole key is possessing a strategy. You have to know who you are as an artist (especially as an independent) before the general public will accept your music.

What is your business objective for creating a website?

Do you have 1-2 people or staff members who are available to update your site on a regular basis?

Define content (in terms of the internet) and what will be your primary content presented on your potential website?

The Birth of Internet Business Plan
At the Hood Hard Day conference on June 21st, I was featured on a panel along with Motivational Speaker/Author JAWAR and Mr. Allen Johnston on the topic of Making Money Online. My current impression is that I have a long road ahead in terms of helping the music industry understand that making REAL money online is not a 1 day process. Many entertainment people I’ve spoken with think that Making Money Online is as simple as setting up a site, getting a PayPal account, and selling mixtapes.


Real Questions for Artists
Do you have a solid written plan for each project that you release?


Do you have your contacts in some sort of database or arrangement to recall that information at the touch of a mouse?


If you need serious help putting together an internet strategy, then you should definitely email [e-mail] and let’s get a conversation started…..