Supernova.com is a community that grew out of the largest Battle of the Bands operator in Canada, and into the ‘web 2.0’ world by building the most active Canadian social community dedicated to music. They currently have over 21,000 independent bands and artists, and over 200,000 total community members including fans and industry.

The site’s mantra is to provide new / undiscovered musicians with the same caliber of experience as a rockstar would get.

The Battle of the Bands shows put these young acts up on big stages, provide professional sound and staffing, and DO NOT take any payment from the bands. Instead, they front all the costs and provide bands with the tickets to sell (or return, if unsold). They also coordinate industry and media attendance at the events, and have seen some really impressive acts play on our stage: Billy Talent, Sum 41, Three Days Grace and many others have played the Supernova stage.

The Web site is designed to support young artists who are willing to work hard at self-promotion, by giving them viral social media tools and web metrics that resonate with industry scouts and agents.

Through fan interaction on Supernova, bands can climb up Weekly indie charts, earn higher band scores, profile views and event featured placement on the community. They also regularly use these Weekly Charts (Top 10, Newest, Recent Battle Winners, etc) to recommend music to radio directors and other music media, and many of their bands have seen early success from their recognition on Supernova.

One of the most impressive tools in their system is the Customized Music Sampler – this personalized newsletter gives any band a list of upcoming gigs in their area, upcoming Battle/prizing opportunities and a condensed list of the week’s top music in a user’s favourite genres. Fans and listeners benefit by getting lists built with their favorite band’s upcoming events, plus any voting or interaction opportunities to help support the band in competition.

The Web site does have 2 key values:

For Bands, Music Fans/Listeners:

• They are the BEST way to get discovered if you are a band, or to find authentic indie/new music if you are a listener.
• Engaging with other users on Supernova.com will push your band to the top of the charts and make you more easy to discover
• Fans and listeners can both explore and rate music, share and comment on it, and genuinely influence a band’s success.
• Supernova is the ONLY social community to put their bands on the live concert stage, in over 250 shows each year plus additional showcases/festival gigs.

For Corporations/Companies:

• Supernova is the EXPERT in accessing youths through music
• They have proven how successful music is in helping align brands with young, indie/new music and culture
• Music is the strongest common passion among youths, and one of the best ways to promote your brand
• Supernova can help any company to design a major artist promotion or membership community platform driven by music

The MOST EXCITING thing Supernova is now doing is not so much for bands directly, but for companies that want to get involved with music promotions, new bands, and major music artists. Using their 17+ years of experience in creating exciting events that connect youths to music, rewarding passion and musical performance, Supernova.com is now helping to design and execute major music promotions from some of the country’s top companies.

The CFOX 99.3 Vancouver Seeds Talent Search is entering its 31st year, and Supernova.com has again been asked to facilitate the largest indie talent search in Canada. Supernova.com has also created the National High School Battle of the Bands, a cross Canada competition that rewards and recognizes music in schools, and is now building custom music promotion community platforms for additional corporate partners.

Breakingband.com provides a free platform, which allows independent bands to sell digital and hard copies of their albums. The Web site also exposes indie music to fans searching for the top indie bands.

Breaking Band’s goal is to create profiles and sell albums for the top 2,500 independent artists in the country, according to the Web site. The Web site wants to create a valuable tool in connecting your band with new fans as well as create a platform to distribute both digital and hard copies of your music.

Their concept is essentially, “A mix between Myspace and CDbaby, but without all the spamming and bad music.”

The site is non-exclusive, so bands can promote their music and sell merchandise on other Web sites.

Breaking Band wants to become the top site for fans to search and purchase the best new independent music.

Every album you purchase is automatically loaded into your playlist and you can access it even when you don’t have your iPod or CD’s. All you need is your password.

The site wants you take advantage of our messaging tools, knowing that you will not be bombarded with friend requests and spam, but allowed to befriend and communicate with the bands and friends of your choice.

Is there a charge for bands to sell their albums on the site?

Yes. For every album you sell on the site they charge a flat rate of $3.00. This charge compensates the site’s team for the time it takes to put your discs in the mail and to maintain a site that allows your fans to instantly access their purchased albums. For digital releases we take a 10% of the sale.

A key component to online marketing for independent bands is creating a Web site, so they can place the URL on their social networks to gain a strong online presence.

Ebandlive.com offers indie bands the service to generate customized or ready made Web sites for them. The site also offers online marketing services to expose the band’s domain for their content.

All come with a subscription and integration into our content management system, site hosting and much more, according to the Web site.

Having the ability to control the content on their own domain is key when trying to manage their image and marketing. Indie artists can make their own rules and do not have to follow the regulations that social networks expect them to follow.

Bands should keep their content fresh such as, tour dates, photos, appearances, etc., so their fans return to view anything that is new with the band.

Furthermore, bands can sell their cd’s, t-shirts, digital music and more on their Web sites. Yes, the artists can do this on their social networking site, but they can have an improved tracking system. For example, bands have the ability to evaluate what links fans are clicking and viewing compared to what they are buying when they utilize analytics.

How can bands track their analysis for free? Google offers the ability to track analytics for free and provides more information then what the artists expect to find.

Web site packages range from $19.95 for just hosting your site to $995.00 plus hosting fees.

You have just seen a great performance by a new independent band touring the country.  You are already a fan after hearing two hours of fresh heart-thumping sound, and stopped to pick up their self-released album earlier during the concert break.  You gaze over at the crowd surrounding the merchandise stand, contemplating whether or not you should join the masses. 

You are hesitant because the line seems long, filled with other eager fans hoping to speak with their idols of the evening.  Many concert-goers are paying for posters to have signed by grateful band members, and some are proudly donning their new T-shirts.  Do you wait and sacrifice another hour of sleep?

For many indie bands their livelihood depends on creating a strong and loyal fan base.  While they may have far off dreams of fame and money in the future, at this point they are still struggling to make ends meet.  There is no rock star tour bus, no five star hotels and no royal treatment. 

Their shows only bring in a limited income after paying for promotion, travel costs, managers, venue fees and various expenses.  In fact, this band you have just seen may only have enough money to make it to their next stop on the tour. 

Selling merchandise at shows is a key ingredient to a band’s survival, as it brings in much-needed income.  Every sticker, hat, poster, CD and T-shirt a band sells puts them one step closer to success.  Not only does the cash flow allow them to keep going, but the free promotion a T-shirt or bumper sticker gives them is truly priceless. 

Next time you are contemplating on whether to stop at the merchandise table after a terrific show, think of how much you want this band to succeed.  Perhaps that $10 shirt could turn into a collector’s item one day, and if not then you will always have the memory of that great night right on your back.

DigiMusicBids.com is the first online marketplace that is geared toward the music business. Independent bands need to take advantage of this great opportunity to grow their projects.

The Web site’s mission is to connect musicians and the people who want to work with them in the music industry.

The online platform gives artists and labels a platform to post projects for services they need completed.

If you’re a professional or vendor who caters to music industry clients, this is the place to market your products to YOUR buyers, according to the Web site.

Professionals can also bid on contract jobs that cater to them, instead of trying to filter through random contractor or freelance Web sites.

 Businesses geared toward the music industry can bid on these projects in a reverse-auction marketplace. Vendors are also able to sell goods in a fixed-price auction directly to the music industry professionals who need them.

Why should indie labels and bands use DigiMusicBids.com?

In the US music industry, at least 83% of all companies/firms outsource one service or the other, according to the Web site. Of these, 60% outsource more than half of the total process required to produce, record, market and distribute an album.

By bringing all of these resources together, it provides an opportunity for the independent artists and labels to also benefit, by making it cheaper to create an album and bring it to market.

Spin have unveiled the tracklisting and album art for Brand New’s, soon to be released album, Daisy. The band is set to release Daisy September 22nd on DGC/Interscope/Procrastinate Music Traitors.

Brand New will embark on a fall headlining tour of North America in support of their highly anticipated new full length album, and will have a trio of independent bands to open for them.

The coast to coast trek kicks off on October 1st in Cleveland, OH and the band has tapped a few of their friends as main support along the way. For the first leg they’ll be joined by Manchester Orchestra, for the second leg Thrice will be joining them and on the third and last leg they will be joined by Glassjaw. 

As previously announced, Glassjaw will also be joining them in Uniondale, LI at the Nassau Coliseum homecoming event on November 28th.  This special show sold 6,000+ tickets in the first 24 hours!

The fall North American tour will follow main stage performances at both Reading and Leeds – where Brand New are fifth on the bill behind Radiohead, Bloc Party, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Vampire Weekend.  These festival dates in August will mark their second trip to the UK this year. 

The band headed over in June and sold out ever single date including Manchester Academy (2370 capacity), Birmingham @ 02 Academy (3000 capacity) and The Forum in London (2300 capacity). 

They followed the UK dates up with a small US tour in July of underplays that sold out each venue in record time including shows at Slim’s in SF, Epicentre in San Diego and the Troubadour in LA.

The Music Hall of Williamsburg which Bowery Presents’ Josh Moore said, “There’s no way to know how quickly it actually sold out because it was literally gone instantly and the good thing is we know all the tickets went to actual fans and not re-sellers.”

Over the past decade Brand New has made a name for itself with the release of three full length albums and numerous tours of North America, Europe, UK, Australia and Asia. 

With more than 1.2 million records sold in North America alone and a touring history that is enviable, Brand New is ready to set the world on fire again with Daisy – out September 22nd.  Don’t miss them when they come to a town near you this fall!

RepublicProject.com is an interactive platform where music fans can connect with independent bands within the community.

Republic Project is a music technology company that works with major labels, independent labels and artists directly. Creativity is entirely in the hands of the artist.

The site allows artists a platform that can monetize the creation of the album, and fans get to be part of that creative process.

Republic Project incorporates digital album sales with exclusive video and web content. The Web site offers fans the advantage to pre-order an album from an artist. In doing so, fans can become a part of the creative experience with backstage pass access on the site.

The retail experience is driven by the Republic Project’s social and web marketing for the artist, according to the site. Their distinctive approach to selling music online generates a variety of revenue-generating opportunities for artists while providing the fan with the most interactive and intimate entertainment experience possible.

The Republic Project is currently looking for established artists with an online fan base. They do have links to submissions, which request  MySpace page and YouTube links.

As we see the significance of digital music downloading services dominating the competition, independent bands are utilizing digital music distribution as a method to market to the world.

There has been an increased amount of indie bands that are releasing well-polished music, which is ready to be marketed and sold. But being a sole proprietor of a product that you want to sell around the world could be a daunting task for bands.

Contacting a distribution company to help spread the word about the band’s music is an alternative, which is effective, but the bands need to read the fine print.

Of course a deal would warrant the music being sold on iTunes and other downloading sites, but will they have the ability to keep up with the mainstream bands?

Indie and unsigned bands do not have the deep pockets to advertise as much as major acts, but utilizing social networks and Web sites that cater to the indie music industry can surely help them make a their mark. With that being said, having a distribution deal does help the bands feel that having their music made available alongside mainstream artists is a boost to their credibility. This would help them gain exposure across the board.

A good deal has the possibility to give the music many views and listens if the bands manage to populate prominent music downloading sites to sell the albums. Your only subsequent aim is to actually make sales on them. Otherwise, what is the purpose after all is done?

Deals, terms and conditions vary from business to business, so it is worth looking around and researching which type of distribution process is right for your project. Even though there are many good companies on the internet, there are also people ready to scam you for every penny available.

If the band can not afford a lawyer to look over the deal, there a major terms they should look for in a contract such as: profitability projection, royalties per sale of digital/hard copies, any payments needed to have service provided and termination clause. Also, check for any advertising packages to help sell CD’s and information, which makes the band the only side to gain from the tax process.

A major term to look for is the “exlusivity” term, which should warrant the band freedom of to use the music, so they can market it where ever they need to.

Bands not only have to be aware of distribution companies, but also need to read over the terms when utilizing Web sites who offer services such as CD Baby. They need to be sure of any payments, or fees, and how the process works for each individual site.

Rock Band Network will permit independent and unsigned bands to submit their own songs for users to download later this year. This offer is exclusively for Xbox 360 versions of the game with the intention of providing the most downloadable tracks to Playstation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii moving forward.

Indie bands can price their songs between 50 cents and $3, netting 30% of track sales. Users of the game will be able to preview Rock Band Network songs before they purchase.

A set of professional tools, which will allow people on the front line of writing and recording songs to completely control their destiny. They will also have admission to interactive products and then giving them direct access to the download store.

Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games, and distributed by EA Distribution.

The game has gained a solid fan base with sales of four million units and global revenues of $600 million after its launch in late 2007.

I am pretty sure most fans of YouTube are aware of this site, but Listentoyoutube.com has given us the ability to convert our favorite YouTube videos into mp3s. What a great idea! I have been wanting to archive many live videos and new music that I saw on the Web site. Now we all have the effortless ability to do so.

I especially wanted to do this with independent bands who do not have the ability to record an album, but do have videos of live performances of the songs.

The way the site works is this: Once a user enters the YouTube URL, the software retrieves the FLV file (flash video) from YouTube, saving it to our server, according to the site. We approximate the time needed to transfer the file, and give the user a countdown, as well as showing them a thumbnail image of the video, also retrieved from YouTube.

Then, the YouTube video file is parsed one byte at a time by our PHP MP3 extractor class, the site explains. We add an Xing header to the MP3 file to alleviate the audio duration errors given by the iTunes player (and a few others). Finally, we present the user with a link to download the MP3 file.

The time needed to retrieve the FLV file depends on the upload speed of the YouTube servers, but once we have the flash video, it takes our software less than 3 seconds to extract the mp3 audio, the Web site adds.

This site has provided us with a new way to get the word out about new music and indie bands.