Review: How to Use Video to Promote Your Music Online

Is YouTube the next MTv? The audience is certainly there. All that’s needed is a music-friendly interface that allows users to browse, watch and join in. That would be sweet, but even if YouTube doesn’t take on traditional music television, musicians are already using it to promote their music and so should you.

Bob Baker’s new report How to Use Video to Promote Your Music Online aims to help you “create, promote and profit” from your music videos online (not just YouTube). Bob authored the popular Guerrilla Music Marketing Handbook and provides artists with a wealth of information on his website about music promotion.

Content is king. Hail to the King.

How to Use Video to Promote Your Music Online begins with a primer on music videos in general, but Bob soon gets stuck into our first real lesson: Forget the concept of ‘music videos,’ and start to think of ‘music video content.’ It’s an important first step in realizing the possibilities that video now offers. While a standard clip of you and your band is better than nothing, Bob’s explanation of music video content shows us that it’s only the beginning.

If not owning a video camera seemed like an obvious setback, this report contains nine other ways you can make a video on a “shoestring budget”. Mind you, I think some of the suggestions would still require stretching your wallet. Still, the different examples will have you thinking of your own creative ways to get a video made.

What’s your theme?

The concept of music video content really comes into play when Bob discusses 14 different visual themes you can use in your music video, providing examples of artists who have done similar. A visual theme in this case refers to what sort of content your video contains. For example if you’re stuck with a bad recording of your music, some of Bob’s suggestions prove that music is by no means required for successful content. This section had me imagining cool ways to promote music and I was surprised at the number of different things I thought up (whether my cool ideas are actually good ideas is another story).

Video production is also looked upon. This may be useful for those who want to make shooting their video more than a one-man job. The section on editing is a little bare, but links to software and other guides are included.

Must-dos when marketing your music video

Making a music video is pointless if no one can see it, so Bob shares some good advice on marketing. In each of his suggestions he again provides relevant examples and website addresses so you won’t have to mess around searching for stuff. All of the examples tackle fundamental steps to getting your music into the hands of fans, new and old. You don’t have to be an expert either to put any of the advice to good use.

I believe that hearing another artist’s success story is one of the best ways to motivate yourself and inspire you to think of other unique ways to get your music exposed. Bob provides a small yet detailed interview with Terra Naomi. Terra had huge success promoting her music through video online and a number of ways she did it can be seen in Bob’s examples of music video content.

How to Use Video to Promote Your Music Online is a handy guide for those new to music videos. If you’ve created a music video in the past but had little success with it, Bob’s report will definitely be of use. It did feel a little underdone in some places, but that’s not to say that it lacked quality information. Rather, I think someone of Bob’s expertise could write an entire novel on music videos for the web (but than he’d probably have to charge more) and I’d like to see it.

How to Use Video to Promote Your Music Online can be purchased as an immediate PDF download for $11.95 US (limited introductory offer) at http://www.bob-baker.com/buzz/music-video-promotion.html. It comes with a 60-day money-back guarantee.

- Michael Meloni

Details:

Title: How to Use Video to Promote Your Music Online

Author: Bob Baker

Format: PDF Report

Pages: 22

Price: $11.95 US (usually $19.95)

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Views: 1670

Back 11.01.2007