Recently Soundcloud struck a deal with The Hype Machine and already the benefits are showing as the service has reached a million users and will quickly surpass that at a global level. The audio sharing site is becoming very popular with musicians to share their new music, collaborations and pet projects to the world. Seen as the “Flickr” or “Vimeo for audio” artists are posting up and users are able to interact with those posts seeking the audio they want.

Techcrunch recently did an article on their success which no one will argue is a very viable way to distribute music. It notes that the service is “winning the hearts and business of artists.”

• Digital Music Distributor RouteNote Signs Three New Online Music Stores – Deezer, Napster, Thumbplay – January 29, 2010
• Attack Of The Music Communities – April 8, 2008
• i Life Solutions: Best In Home Personalised Theatre – February 9, 2012
• Spotify Gift Cards Available to Buy in Retail Stores in UK in time for Christmas – November 1, 2011
• Spotify Gapless Playback – October 17, 2011

Soundcloud Growing Past One Million Users Globally originally appeared on: Crenk
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RouteNote is the only digital music distribution service that has no upfront costs and provides artists with access to the worlds largest online stores and streaming services. Artists can choose from a growing list of quality partners including iTunes, Amazon mp3, Spotify, eMusic and more.

New partner summary:

Deezer is a French business, but has agreements with all 4 major labels to stream ad-supported music to their 9 million registered users across 35 different countries. In the three years since its launch, Deezer has been voted the most innovative website of 2007 by readers of 01Net, ahead of both Facebook and Dailymotion. Deezer also won the 2008 Red Herring award, for Europe’s most innovative web companies, among various other awards. The proof of their success is really in the number of people listening to music through their service, which keeps on growing. In addition to their music streaming service, Deezer also offers:

- Access to radio channels: Hip Hop, Rock, Electro, Jazz, Live, French Scene, Disco etc.
- Surfing intelligent online radio
- Information about artists, albums, tracks, introducing subscribers to new music
- Sharing playlists, chat and musical tastes with friends via the community of ‘Deezernautes’
- Watch videos

Napster was the first cat among the digital pigeons with it’s peer to peer service, but they’ve come a long way since their rebellious beginnings, and now their subscription service offers both unlimited streaming and a number of DRM free downloads per month, available online and on smartphones in Europe and the USA.

Thumbplay is the largest mobile content provider in the U.S. Operating both web based and mobile services, including licensed music, video and games. They have deals with all the majors, and several independent labels and artists, and now you can get access to their services through RouteNote. Hundreds of millions of cellphones in the US are waiting to download your music.

To get your music live with these music stores and all our other online music partners, sign up for our music distribution service, and get our new music upload tool. You can have your tracks online in minutes, and earning you money in a matter of weeks.

Disclosure: I am the CEO of RouteNote.

• Soundcloud Growing Past One Million Users Globally – May 18, 2010
• Attack Of The Music Communities – April 8, 2008
• i Life Solutions: Best In Home Personalised Theatre – February 9, 2012
• Spotify Gift Cards Available to Buy in Retail Stores in UK in time for Christmas – November 1, 2011
• Spotify Gapless Playback – October 17, 2011

Digital Music Distributor RouteNote Signs Three New Online Music Stores – Deezer, Napster, Thumbplay originally appeared on: Crenk
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Self publish your work.

spent years collecting works on my personal sites that would work well in book format. The idea is to take out the middleman, publishers, and put your work in your hands by giving you the options you need to get your work out to the world. But it’s not just for writers, opportunities are abound for photographers as well who want to feature their work in magazine or calendar format.

Lulu has offered self publishing opportunities for all of us for many years now, and since its launch, has expanded it’s offerings. Take your work in one of many formats, books, ebooks, calendars, photo books, cookbooks, cd’s and dvd’s. Lulu also offers distribution services to get your book out in as many markets as possible, and the fees are minimal compared to what you’d get having to work with an agent and a publisher. I don’t want to take anything away from the traditional models that exist for publishing, they definitely have a place in the world of content publishing, but self publishing offers us so many new opportunities.

At the pro level there are many great options you have, should you choose to go this route, that mimics what working with a real publisher is like. Services include publishing packages, retail listings, children’s book packages, and all inclusive packages. Each of them come with their own distinct professional connections that as a self publisher allows you to truly get a hands on the process of getting your book out to the masses.

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Personally Publish Self Works with Lulu originally appeared on: Crenk
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Myspace – Myspace is the king of all social networks and is leading the way in the music space. Everyone knows how myspace works, you sign up for a profile and then your able to upload 4 songs to your profile. Simple yet effective, because of how many artists are on the system. Additionally, myspace will be launching a new music feature in the coming months.

Bebo – Bebo who just got acquired by AOL for $850 million, is a big player in the social networking space. Currently, they are 3rd in the USA but leading the way in UK. The has the ability for bands to customise their profiles, and can even add songs to their profiles. However, doesnt have a music player at all and is very limited in so many ways.

Last.fm – Last.fm is a service that is growing every day. It is a service that keeps track of what music you listen to, and then helps you discover new music based on your preferences. Last.fm can be used to find new music, listen to music you already like, and get in touch with people who have the same taste in music as you do, discover new gigs in your local area. Last.fm also allows artists and labels to upload their own music and videos and promote them for free. As far as im aware only selected artists can now actually receive royalties from Last.fm when their music is played via their site.

Purevolume – Purevolume is probably the oldest music social network of the lot in this article. It has a sleak design and it is tailored just for artists. Unlike most other social network there arent poor quality ads all over the place and Purevolume is actually still strong when it comes to traffic stats and user participation. The site itself is still missing several features that are need by artists, but the overall feel is still top notch.

Imeem – Imeem is a new social network which allows artists to upload their music and actually make royalties via plays on the Imeem site. Currently artists need to have an agreement with Snocap, so that Snocap can track the amount of plays done on Imeem and then Imeem pays artists a percentage of the advertising revenue they receive.

MOG – is a social network that helps you “discover people through music and discover music through people”. Basically MOG makes it easy for you to find new music to listen to by using custom filters and personalized suggestions. The site is very similar to Last.fm, but has a few twists in their algorhythm. MOG also provides users with reviews, news and streaming audio. MOG also features a music TV that continuously broadcasts videos taken from YouTube.

iLike – iLike is another service that is similar to Last.fm, but has a nice twist that allows you to also organise your music. It lets you share music libraries with your friends, browse and sample their most played songs, and compare your compatibility scores. iLike will also send you music recommendations directly in iTunes.

JamNow – is a social network aimed at musicians that allows them to create audio content online in real-time. JamNow isn’t a site that simply makes you “post and listen” to audio content: its platform enables real-time music collaboration and lets you schedule live jam sessions and listen to musicians that are playing right in that moment.

Haystack – is all about finding new music through your friends and the people you think are taste makers or cool. You can browse music, pictures, videos and reviews of artists as well as build your own profile and personalize it with images and videos. They encourage artists to sign up directly or even through their labels.

Sonific – is a social network that offers a great way to promote your music, if you are an artist. It lets users put a free music widgets with your music on their sites and promote it to their own audiences, for free. In exchange, Sonific users get free music to use and listen to (download is not permitted) and make their site look cooler – while you get free advertising for your music.

Sellaband – is a music social network that turns the fans and listeners of bands into their producers, asking them to invest in a band or artist they support so that they will be able to get a recording opportunity. Every single investor that supports a successful band will take home a small cut of the profits made by them. Artists not only get financial support but also share 50% of the ad revenue coming from the free downloads of their music.

iJigg – is a online community that lets you comment on music and share songs. You can rate music and influence what becomes popular, as well as upload your own music to share it with the community and make new fans. You will need to decide whether to open a “listener” or “artist” account, which will give you access to different features (e.g. listeners can download free mp3 of their favorite music, while artists can upload their own music).

Flotones – is a monetized social network for artists and their fans. The best features is the ability to promote and distribute content via mobile phones. For example a band can do ringtones and mobile wallpapers. After registration you will be able to promote your content at your gigs and even on your social network profiles. You’ll be asked to sign a contract before getting paid.

Overall:

Out of the list above i think the key sites to sign up to are Myspace (overall largest reach), Purevolume (music specific), Last.fm (but only if you have royalty agreement with them), Imeem (royalty collection on streams and growing in traffic) and Sellaband (potential to receive investment money).

• Build Better Relationships with Zentact – January 7, 2009
• Music Startups Musicians Should Use on a Daily Basis – March 19, 2011
• Soundcloud Growing Past One Million Users Globally – May 18, 2010
• Digital Music Distributor RouteNote Signs Three New Online Music Stores – Deezer, Napster, Thumbplay – January 29, 2010
• Personally Publish Self Works with Lulu – January 1, 2010

Attack Of The Music Communities originally appeared on: Crenk
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