1) What Is Cyber PR And How Is It Different From Traditional PR?
CyberPR is Internet Only PR. This means we only are going for placements online. Where Online? Anywhere we can think of that features artists and musicians…
Including:
• Blogs, Vlogs & Audio-Blogs
• Internet Radio Stations
• Web-Based Music Magazines
• Online Music Directories
• Regional Sites (Hometown)
• Film, Video Game & TV Supervisors
|
• Online Music Journalists
• Podcasters
• Video Upload Sites
• Social Networking Sites
• Tour Date Sites
• Lifestyle Sites
|
2) How Does Cyber PR Work?
CyberPR works exactly like an Internet dating service but instead of connecting men to women for dates, we connect artists to potential online PR opportunities.
Each one of the 10,000+ online outlets that we work with tell us what type of artist they would like to receive based on musical genres, artist’s hometown and upcoming tour markets. We only send perfectly matched artists to each outlet.
Once we come up with a list of matching resources, we will send artist’s custom built VPK (VIRTUAL PRESS KIT) which includes a bio, website & MySpace links, photos, influences and similar artists, and an embedded MP3 that is both stream able and downloadable to the matches. They, in turn, each have a user account where they can log in, download music, rate artists and leave feedback that the artist can read, request station IDs Interviews or Full CDs. We also provide a list of Special Opps (deeply discounted services) from some of the best online companies available for artists and more.
If all of this is boring you, you can watch a little movie that explains what we do in 2 minutes! CLICK HERE TO WATCH DEMO
3) What Exactly Is Traditional PR?
Traditional artist publicity involves placing articles and mentions and calendar listings in print publications on behalf of artists. This includes newspapers (daily, weekly, monthly, college etc), magazines, and fanzines. It can also encompass television appearances as well as radio appearances and some web articles and reviews. Ariel Publicity did these types of placements for 10 years.
4) Why Don’t You Offer Traditional PR Anymore?
In recent years with each passing campaign, we noticed something we did not like at all; our returns were diminishing for our artists. Back in 1996, when we started doing tour PR, it was very unusual not to get one feature story or major listing with a photo in at least one newspaper in each tour market. We used to mail out 100 CDs and get 20-30 or more CD reviews usually within 4 to 8 weeks. What began to happen is we would mail out 3X that many (costing the artist a fortune in postage, envelopes, paper etc), and we would get half as many reviews back because writers were totally overwhelmed with CDs (1,000 on average are coming out per week). Also, some reviews were taking up to 12–16 weeks to come in and some as long as 6 months.
5) So… You Promote Me On MySpace?
No, not directly - We will promote you to all of the types of online outlets mentioned at the top of this page and more. However, there are plenty of MySpace friend opportunities in our campaigns. In your profile (VPK) we will include a link to your MySpace profile in case the outlets we promote you to would like to add you to their friends list. We also work closely with other companies that do MySpace promotions and we would be more than happy to introduce you to them.
6) What Is Cyber Tour PR?
It is Cyber PR but it is for artists who are on the road – we will send your VPK with specific tour details (show date & time, venue info, ticket price etc.) to all online outlets in each tour market, including the online versions of: local newspapers, magazines, local Internet Radio and regional website.
7) What Is BandLetter?
Reaching out to online outlets is just one side of what we do. We will also provide artists with an integrated e-mail system. We design beautiful html newsletters and send them to your fans. Our BandLetters are professionally designed and interactive and they link directly to each artist’s iTunes, merchandise, and to a free monthly MP3.
8) I ONLY Want the BandLetter Service Not A Full Cyber PR Package – How Much Is It?
$29.99 for the initial design and set-up fee. Then it is $29.99 per month (for up to 500 names – it’s a penny per name after that). For this fee we design and send out your fan emails 1X or 2X per month.
9) I Don’t Want To Give Away A Free MP3
Sorry – then we are not the company for you! We think at this stage of the game you MUST be willing to give away at least some of your music. If you are not comfortable giving away MP3s from your albums, we suggest giving away some live versions. People are so accustomed to getting free music online (either illegally or legally) that you are taking yourself out of the game by resisting.
10) What Is A Podcast?
A podcast, at its core, is just a computer audio file that is created along with some computer code that enables the file to be downloaded to your computer (and therefore, is transferable to iPods). There are now thousands of free podcasts available at iTunes.
11) What Is A Blog?
A Blog is really just an informal website. The format of a blog site is an online journal or diary that is usually more personal and more subjective than a proper website. Blogs have actually been around for years, but it wasn't until recently that they came to be known by this term.
12) What Is An Audio-Blog?
An Audio-Blog is a Blog that includes music as well as text. Usually the text is a critique or some commentary of the music. Audio-Blogs are becoming more and more embraced by the industry.
13) What Is A Zine?
A magazine that is available online (as opposed to in print on paper). A music ‘zine focuses on music as a main topic.
14) What Is An Internet Radio Station?
Listening to radio broadcasts via the Internet. Using streaming techniques, high-quality audio can be delivered to users at their computers. The audio is played via a software media player or a browser plug-in that supports streaming audio formats such as those from RealNetworks and Microsoft. Internet radio may be streamed at the same time as live AM and FM broadcasts over the air, or it may be a recording of a previous broadcast. In the latter case, selecting the station again after it started will reset the stream to the beginning.
15) What Is An Online Music Directory?
An online directory is a web-based list that specializes in linking to other websites and categorizing those links. Online directories often allow site owners to submit their sites for inclusion. Editors of online directories review each individual submission to make sure it is appropriate and pertinent for that specific directory and category.
16) What Is A Social Networking Site?
A Social Networking Site (like MySpace) enables people to rendezvous, connect, or collaborate through computer-mediated communication. Many advocates of using these tools believe (and actively argue or assume) that these create actual community, and have adopted the term "online communities" to describe the social structures that they claim result. (Definition from Wikipedia)
17) What Is A Video Upload Site?
YouTube is the newest craze on the net, and more and more artists are getting noticed through videos and homemade movies that show a whole new dimension. Some examples are: short movies from the road, interview profiles, personal diary entries etc. We have over 100 video upload sites where we will send videos so if you have one, and we can use it to gain even more exposure.
18) What Is A Wiki?
A wiki is a website that allows the visitors themselves to easily add, remove, and otherwise edit and change available content, and typically without the need for registration. This ease of interaction and operation makes a wiki an effective tool for mass collaborative authoring. The term wiki also can refer to the collaborative software itself (wiki engine) that facilitates the operation of such a web site, or to certain specific wiki sites, including the computer science site (the original wiki) WikiWikiWeb and on-line encyclopedias such as Wikipedia. (Definition from Wikipedia)
19) I Need A Booking Agent – Can You Book Me?
Sorry – Ariel Publicity is no longer a booking agency.
Booking yourself can be hard, and I know how much artists dread it! Here are a few words about booking agencies written by Ariel...
Booking agencies take 10% of your pay – this is how they get paid – so before you are ready to approach a booking agent, you should be grossing at least $100K in revenue a year – that’s a meager $10K for the agent.
And really - there is NOTHING a small booking agency can do that you can’t do yourself. The only thing that an agent does differently is they PERSEVERE when they get a rejection for one club they call 6 more. So roll up your sleeves and get booking! (We will be posting a full article about this soon – stay tuned.)
20) I Want To Sign Up For Your Monthly Musicians Tip Sheet
Where Can I Do That?
Right here: enter your email at the bottom of the page - www.arielpublicity.com
If you have a question that we have not already addressed please feel free to get in touch with us!
|
|
|
