Reports are a brewin’ about  a new “social network” called Google Me after a tweet was posted by Digg’s Kevin Rose. That’s right, Facebook, you allegedly have a competitor being released into the social media realm soon.

It brings me to ask questions about the upcoming social network…

Will it be artist friendly? Is there going to be a music player for bands and artists? Are they going to take aspects of Myspace to help the cause?

Sweet Relief Musicians Fund has qualified for the Pepsi Refresh Project. During the month of June they will be competing for one of ten $50,000 grants with the winners being determined by number of votes.

You can help by visiting the Pepsi Refresh Project website and vote to help preserve one of the few resources that a professional musician can turn to for support when there is no place else to go. Participants can vote once per day until June 30th.

Twitter is a great tool for musicians to market their music, but many musicians are unsure how it can be helpful to them. The typical musician spends much of their time being musically creative, but many musicians who should be using Twitter to market their music aren’t sure where to start or how to use it to its full potential.

Luckily, Twitter is simple and easy. The only work that really needs putting in is a little thought and some time on a regular basis, and I’d like to share a few ways that this popular social network can supercharge your music career:

Find New Fans of Your Music

Many people are on Twitter these days – and many of them are music fans that live in your town, and the cities you visit. With Twitter’s search function, you can find local music lovers who enjoy the style of music that you play. Twitter also allows for two-way communication via replies and direct messages, so you have the opportunity to make true connections.

Featured Blog:
Urban Music Daily
http://urbanmusicdaily.net/

At UrbanMusicDaily.Net, we strive to be a distinct leader in the pursuit of excellence. With dedicated staff around the clock to provide everyone with fresh sounds each day, we at UMD believe the sky is the limit. While we cover a variety of music including R&B, Hip-Hop , DanceHall/Reggae, we proudly specialize in urban sounds.

Featured Podcast:
The Justin Wayne Show
http://thejustinwayneshow.com

“Don’t get signed,” might be the perfect rallying cry for a new generation of indie-by-choice musicians. The words come from Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn of Pomplamoose, speaking from the homepage of YouTube’s newest initiative, MusiciansWanted.

Jack and Nataly are telling artists not to sign with a major label. Instead, DIY kids can generate their own revenue streams through indie resources like MusiciansWanted.

What’s the Deal?

YouTube announced the launch of MusiciansWanted this week at SXSW. The service allows indie bands to apply to the YouTube Partner Program, which has been doing amazing things for video posters ever since its launch two years ago. The YPP allows people who post videos on YouTube to earn nominal revenue off advertising. The more people watch a video (and the accompanying ads) the more money a poster makes.

Now, YouTube is offering indie bands the chance to become a major part of this program. If an artist’s application is accepted, they’ll be able to add tour dates and sell merch on their video page. And the sweetest plum of all? according to Wired, unlike regular YPP members, MusiciansWanted artists will receive the majority of ad revenue earned from people watching their videos, paid out on a monthly basis.

All MusiciansWanted videos will also be fully embeddable on other websites and blogs, and artists will earn revenue from their videos being shared, too. Make it rain, YouTube! Of course, MusiciansWanted is being promoted as a resource that will allow indie bands to earn a ton of money, and quit their day jobs. We’ll see about that.

The South by Southwest Music Festival has been running strong, and getting stronger, since it originated in 1987. Austin considers itself the live music capital of the world, and though cities would like to battle that claim, musicians and music industry types clamor to the capital of Texas every March from around the globe.

Austin has had an entertainment district for several decades. As the home of the state government and the University of Texas, Austin has always had lively nightspots, some of which date back to the 1800s, when many of General Custer’s troops poured into clubs after the Civil War. The majority of these clubs were located along 6th street and 4th street, where the entertainment district is still located today, and the musical styles varied widely due to the mix of Mexican, colonial and German settlers. The area today hosts the highest concentration of original music nightclubs of any other city worldwide.

Austin Music Foundation presents PARTY:SMART featuring Martin Atkins with special guests Ariel Hyatt of Ariel Publicity and Charlie Cheney of Indie Band Manager.

These three indie music luminaries will share tips, secrets, and strategies to help bands more creatively and effectively promote themselves in today’s DIY music business climate.

Local musicians and industry pros as well as SXSW attendees from far and wide will meet for a pre-conference party and educational event with our special guests designed to facilitate relationships and “get the party started” on the eve of SXSW.

Are you too lazy to blog? Are you sick of everyone telling you that without an updated blog you are not a band? Does blogging feel like a huge, annoying, and daunting task that is evocative of being a kid again being assigned homework?

Well, fear not. I’ve got a great and easy blogging solution! at Flickr

They say a picture says a thousand words, and it’s true.

This issue of Sound Advice will walk you through yet another handy dandy Web 2.0 site that is on my top 10 list of sites to join. I am In Love with Flickr! It’s one of the most user-friendly Web 2.0 sites and it’s owned by Yahoo so millions of potential new fans are waiting for you to discover them and make friends. Flickr works in many ways just like MySpace or Facebook. You create a profile, upload your main image, join groups, and make friends, and you can also direct message people and leave comments on any photo you like.

Photos Tell A Complete Story of YOU!

Proof that Indie Collaboration is Worth More Than Label Support.

Leave it to Amanda Palmer to be up to something interesting. Starting in 2007, rumors began to fly about a pair of conjoined twins – former circus act(s) – whose musical talent had been ‘discovered’ by Palmer and accordion-wielding-street-performer extraordinaire, Jason Webley.

The twins – known as Evelyn Evelyn – released the EP Elephant Elephant in 2007, and are now prepping for the liberation of their first full-length album and world tour, supported by Webley’s true-blue indie label, Eleven Records.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Are the world’s first Parapagus Tripus Dibrachius indie superstars about to break down barriers for conjoined twins everywhere, or are the twins, in fact, Palmer and Webley themselves? And either way, what is this world tour gonna look like?

Photo by Lenka Sindelarova

The only thing that can be said for certain is that Evelyn Evelyn is yet more proof, by way of Amanda Fucking Palmer, that hard creative work, not major label support, is the key to a great career in music.

Palmer got her start as part of the Dresden Dolls – a duo of experimental, cabaret-style punk rockers – and has since moved on to a successful solo career, which – rather than being a solitary pursuit – has involved constant collaboration with other musicians, artists, and stage performers of all kinds.

One rule people:

The Size Of Your E-mail List = The Size Of Your Income

So, how big is yours?

Myth: I don’t have any shows to promote. Therefore, I’m not going to do a newsletter.

Reality: 50% or more of the artists that I work with don’t have any shows to promote. Zero, zilch, none…and they still want to be artists in the world getting their music out and heard and liked and listened to (why in the heck would you hire me if you did not want your music out there?).

“There’s never been a better time to be a musician,” say Randy Chertkow and Jason Feehan of indie band Beatnik Turtle. Oh, and the guys also just happen to be the masterminds behind IndieGuide.com – an amazingly detailed resource for indie artists looking for information on how to build their own career.

Chertkow and Feehan got their start authoring The Indie Band Survival Guide: The Complete Manual For The Do-It-Yourself Musician and The DIY Music Manual: How To Record, Promote, And Distribute Your Music Without A Record Deal. In short, these guys know a thing or two about DIY.

We spoke to Chertkow and Feehan about what it takes for musicians to do it all themselves, and why, as Jim Morrison put it, “the time to hesitate is through.” Here’s what they had to say:

GH: Should the process of becoming a successful band be all about getting the attention of a label, or are we at a point where thriving indies should be saying no to label attention?

RC/JF: “The choice as to whether to go with a label or not is up to each band. But that’s the important thing: it’s a choice, not a necessity. In the past musicians had to go for the record deal. Today, it’s just a business decision.

Tired of traveling to and from the music studio every time someone calls for a band practice? Fret no more. Why not build your own home music studio instead? Having a home recording studio has numerous advantages, most especially for musicians and audiophiles.

Here are the top 10 reasons why you should start your own home music studio now:

1. Convenience – Gone are the days when artists and band members need to pack their electric guitars and other musical instruments to rent a professional recording studio and rehearse. Nowadays, music enthusiasts can simply practice anytime, right in the comforts of home.

Indie music can now be submitted to the Rock Band Network store.

Rock Band Network will now permit independent and unsigned bands to submit their own songs for users to download. This offer is  for Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 versions of the game with the intention of providing the most downloadable tracks to 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 songs before they purchase on the Rock Band Network store.

A set of professional tools, which will allow musicians on the front line of writing and recording songs to completely control their destiny. It will take 20-40 hours for first-time users to apply their music on the full-featured editing suite. Bands will also have admission to interactive products and then giving them direct access to the download store.