The Internet has opened up a new world of promotional opportunities for indie artists. As with any other type of promotion, it will do you little good if you have nothing to promote and audiences are flocking away from your gigs in droves and ignoring your CDs in the stores. The time might be better spent working on your songwriting, your next recording and your live show.

The first step is, if you are not already, getting connected to the Internet and establishing an e-mail address. Have your e-mail address included in all promotional materials including bios, business cards, posters, photos and advertising. Compose a "signature" that appears at the bottom of all your e-mail messages that tells people who you are and where to find you. Establish an electronic mailing list and send out a regular newsletter advising your fans of live appearances, new CD releases and other information on your act. Read relevant newsgroups and post messages and responses again using a "signature" promoting your music. Many websites provide classified ads where you can post your own messages. To find these, visit Yahoo at http://yahoo.com and look under Entertainment:Music:Classifieds.

When you have enough to talk about, consider starting your own web site. This will enable you to provide bios, pictures, video, sound clips, real-time audio, press releases, tour dates, CD release info and anything else of interest to your fans, the media and the music industry. Using programs such as Liquid Audio, the capability now exists to sell dolby-quality audio files of your music over the Internet

To attract a regular audience, your site must have compelling content, be updated frequently, be well-designed and must download quickly. Visit a lot of other sites for ideas. A selected list of artist sites is featured on Music & Audio Connection at http://www.musicandaudio.com.

Unless you want to spend all of your time at your computer, have someone who is experienced and competent build and maintain your site for you. Your time is better spent on your music. Your Internet provider can usually help and there are several Internet Presence Providers who can construct your site, host it and maintain it at a reasonable cost.

Once you’re open for business, you have to promote your site. The web address should appear on all of your printed materials, send a press release to the media, post its presence on relevant newsgroups, have it included in Internet search engines and directories and get listed on music-related sites. Web promotion is easily more time consuming than building and maintaining your site, so if you ever want to see your instrument or write another song, you will probably need some help. The Canadian Musician site (http://canadianmusician.com) features a list of Canadian artists and we would be glad to receive your submission

Like any other part of your career, Internet promotion takes a lot of hard work and careful attention to detail. Start small and develop a long range plan and you will find it another valuable addition to your promotional arsenal. If you have any questions, please send them to or FAX to 905-641-1648.

• Virtually Canadian is a new site providing Realaudio Internet radio broadcasts from http://virtuallycanadian.com. Enjoy live real-time music and interview from prominent and rising Canadian artists. You will need to have the Realaudio plug-in installed which you can download at http://www.realaudio.com. 
• White Radio’s new web site contains information on its Communications, Electronics and Audio divisions. The Audio section features products, contacts, audio resources, info requests and news on recent installations. Visit at http://www.whiteradio.com.
• Norris-Whitney Communications is offering updates to its major sites through The Pointcast Network. The viewer software is free for download. Visit Canadian Musician (http://canadianmusician.com), Professional Sound (http://nor.com/ps), Music Books Plus (http://www.musicbooksplus.com) and The Music & Audio Connection (http://www.musicandaudio.com) for details.
• Allen & Heath has introduced their web site at http://www.allen-heath.com. At their site you will find Product Information, Technical Support, a discussion forum and company background.
• Check out FestivalFinder at http://www.festivalfinder.com. This extensive site lists over 1,300 music festivals in the U.S. and Canada where you can browse by style of music, performer, location, date and festival name. FestivalFinder also features discussion groups, and contact numbers for accommodations and tourist information.
• The Ducks Deluxe web site (http://www.ducksdeluxe.com) features information on their line of guitar waxes, polishes, cleaners and accessories. Sample pages are available from their "Ultimate Notebook", a collection of useful forms for musicians, managers, agents and teachers.
• Headspace’s web site features information on the Beatnik plug-in and Editor for providing high-quality audio on the Internet. Visit at http://www.headspace.com.
• ... Norris-Whitney Communications operates The Music & Audio Connection, the international on-line resource for music enthusiasts, musicians, music and audio professionals. Included are classified ads, products for sale, company showcases, discussion forums, associations, music education, music & audio resources, career information and file libraries. Updates to the site are available by e-mail or on The Pointcast Network Visit at http://www.musicandaudio.com. For more information, e-mail to , Fax (905) 641-1648 or call (905) 641-3471. 

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