FTR: I’m not Goth. Never have been. My friend in this photo however has always leaned to that side just enough to let us all mock him a small bit. As he gets older he is also picking up the hobby of fishing, so hilarity ensues. The scary part is how much he loves this Demotivator I made of him.

This one in a series of demotivators I myself created. Feel free to share.

1. Fixion Media
Focused on hard rock and metal. Best if you can only afford one network and need to get to your band’s specific audience on a budget.

2. Indie Click
They cover metal, rock, punk, goth, and even horror movie fans. Great place if you get a hold of a good chunk of ad budget.

3. Blast Beat
If your band has a style that can be described as metal elitist, this is an ad network you really should check out.

4. Ultimate Metal
Just one site, but they are cheap and will give you more than your money’s worth.

5. KNAC
Another site that is not part of a network. They are a bit over priced, but they do have a following you could use if you can afford it.

6. Google Ad Words
Sure it is the largest ad network, but not at all what I would call target audience.

7. Microsoft Ad Center
This is a brand new one, but I hear great things. I hope Microsoft will challenge Google to be as good as they should have been this whole time.

8. YouTube
Yes I know they are owned by Goolge. However, I am not talking about the text ads. I am talking about that little link that says “Promote” next to videos you submit. Ever think about paying a little extra to get more eyeballs on your bands YouTube videos?

9. Stumble Upon
Did you know that you can pay to have people “stumble” on to your band’s website? The bad news is that this will burn ad dollars so quick it will make your head spin.

10. Buzz Net
I have checked out this site and it makes no sense to me. A few websites I go to claim that their ads are done by Buzz Net, but yet Buzznet seems to be it’s own webzine. So try as I might I could not figure out anything about this one. Of course I’m sure I could do some research, but I feel that if you have to contact the people to find out info then they have some issues that need to be dealt with.

So there you have it. This is the best info I have right now. Over time I will try to tweak the info I have so this can be a great resource for everyone. Ok, to be honest I really don’t care about any of you. I will keep this updated for my own purposes and if you benefit from that I really don’t care.

Just to be clear, the only ones I have used myself are most of the top 6. However, top 6 lists don’t seem to get any attention. So I added the others. I may try the others if I’m ever in a situation where I have a regular ad budget. Until then feel free to talk smack about this info in the comments.

Now most bands have figured out how to offer their cd online in some way. I say use them all if possible! If one of your potential fans doesn’t feel comfortable with one method, they have several others to choose from. Plus it looks cool to say you have it available in 10 different online locations. PayPal will allow them to buy it direct from you, but with their own credit card. CafePress will let you sell it along with a ton of merch. But what about getting it in the more mainstream online locations? CD Baby does this for you. When you set up your account you can have them handle iTunes, Amazon, and a few others.

Why have CD Baby do this? Well, two main reasons. Frist off some of these places do not want to deal with what is called “micorpayments“. Meaning $25 here, $50 the next month, $100 another month, and maybe $10 another month. iTunes wants to deal with thousands of dollars at a time. So they deal directly with CD Baby and CD Baby deals with you. Same thing with Amazon and the rest of them. It just makes life more simple. The second reason is that you don’t have to deal with setting up a ton of accounts with a ton of places. Cd Baby does it all for you. Plus you don’t get a bunch of tiny checks from all of these separate online sellers. So it could be said that you should go through Cd Baby for one reason. Less hassle for everyone!

So go set your band up with an account at Cd Baby

You can also just record your band playing live. Try to get soundboard audio if you can, but if not just use a really good microphone with a digital recorder of some sort. In a pinch most digital still cameras can record video and use one of those crappy mics that are already built in. If you go total “Gonzo” with this method at least try and get far enough away from the speakers so it sounds halfway decent. My point being that the most important thing is to post new videos often. It doesn’t even have to be actual music all the time. It can be just a short “news” update. What about footage from the band in the studio recording the new cd? I would post about once a week if you can.

Now many might be asking why posting a new video every week on YouTube can help your band. Well, YouTube has a ton of people on it. Just like with Twitter, Plurk, & Friend Feed you will end up with new fans just because of all the people bouncing around the network. Plus it gives people more chances to check out your band before they go to a show, buy a cd, download a song, or vote for you in some contest. The more material you give them to sample, the better chances that they will fall in love with the music you make.

Now of course once you create the video file on your hard drive, you might as well upload the video to any other social networks you might be part of. MySpace, Facebook, Metacafe, Vimeo, or any of the other free video hosting services. The important thing is that you at least get the video out. Of course after you post a video you should send in your floods of fans and friends using some of the tools I have talked about in the past week. It’s all about networking.

Friend me on YouTube too!

Now if you are in a signed band, please do all your interviews over Skype with a good quality headset like the one you probably play World Of Warcraft with. Nothing is more annoying than trying to listen to an interview with a band that has a crappy cell phone connection. There is no way your cell phone, land line, or any other traditional phone type device is going to come anywhere close to the quality of Skype. If the person doing the interview doesn’t have Skype, they can call you on your Skype number. They don’t have to know why you sound so crystal clear. They just need to be shocked at how easy it is to understand you and how clear you sound to their audience. Now to get a Skype number you will have to pay a VERY small amount. You pay $60 for a full year of an online number or $18 for the 3-month online number. Your band will stick out like a sore thumb with all your interviews sounding more clear than any other interview they have done before. This is a good thing.

So what if you are an unsigned band? Ever get a sore ear from holding a phone to your phone all day? Sucks don’t it? What about when your ear gets all itchy from the cell phone headset? What about the phone bill you get when calling around trying to set up that do it yourself mini tour every summer? You can call real phones with Skype while using a soft Plantronics GameCom type headset. Not only will this be way more comfortable, efficient, and cheaper, but it will also be more productive since you will sound more professional with your crystal clear sound quality.

Now of course once bands and labels wake up to the concept of Skype it will be a great method of networking and communication. Skype not only does voice, but it also does text. So one service for sending instant messages to other contacts online as well as making tons of phone calls. Of course you can also try and set up a bunch of press using the voice service. So no matter what level your band is at, Skype can help you save money and help you become a self promotion machine!