Simpleology Blog

Please go show these guys some love in their youtube comments.

Best Performance Female: Rachael Bell

This one is my personal favorite.  Rachael used to be signed by Sony, but they parted as friends and now Rachael is learning the ropes of online music promotion.  (And as explained on that page, that's the reality all musicians are waking up to now.  Marketing is the other essential half of the game today - yes, even if you're an "artist.")

I think you'll find the rawness and purity of this video endearing.  She coughs in the middle - then starts back up laughing as whoever is holding the camera zooms in for a close up.  You almost wonder - is the person for whom she wrote the song the cameraman?

This is one of those rare instant-classic songs from a great singer.

Rachael is from London and this was filmed in New York City.

Most Humorous:  Lazy Rock Star

"Simpleology?  Is that some religious sect or something?"

Rob Reiner would be proud.

Best Performance Group:  Josephine Costaine

I happened to be in the audience during this concert a few months ago (at the same church in Auckland where my wife and I were married - one year ago February 10th) and the sense was that we were watching a rising star.  Her songwriting and performance are impeccable - her sound unique.

5 years ago I would have said "somebody sign her!" - now I'm saying "stay indie as the major lable power structure is toppling."

Best Performance Male: BLING

Sue me:  I like my Hip Hop to tackle something a little more challenging than "How you gonna act like my neck don't bling?"

OK, so this song is not Grand Master Flash, post-License-to-Ill Beastie Boys, or anything near the poetic social commentary of Hip Hop at it's best.

But well, the name of the act is in fact, BLING.  At least he's straight up and honest.

Pretty tight and polished video for an Indie Hip Hop act, that's for sure. 

Most Inspiring:  Charlton JW

OK, this guy played every single instrument on this song.

Enough said?

Most Viewed: Blue Eyed Sisters

Somehow, these three innocent looking little girls ate everyone's lunch with over 5,000 views of their video!

Girls, if you somehow don't become rock stars, perhaps we can find an opening for you in the marketing department.

Sassiest:  Texas Terri

Well, I suppose you could get sassier than a black and red haired punk rock chick sneering about corporate music ...

I suppose you could, but I ain't seen it.

And ...

Honorable Mention: Sean Simpson - he racked up 3,000 views on youtube!  Way to go, dude.

P.S. Keep your eyes pealed for another contest starting in just a day or so. 

Hint:  it will be bigger.  Much bigger. 

Hint #2:  if you can speak English, you'll want to enter.

Stay tuned.

Posted by Mark Joyner at 8:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Folks, our new course, "Promoting Your Music Online" goes live at 8PM Eastern tomorrow (Tuesday January 29th).

Now, listen close - two really important things here ...

1.  Those who order in the first 48 hours:

a.  Get the course at 1/2 off the regular price.

b.  Also get access to a full Simpleology course we've never released to the public:  Viral Marketing Theory.

There's no link to that course because it's never been released to the public (it was one of the many components of Word of Mouth Transformation).

So, check out the above page tomorrow at 8PM to make sure you get in on time.

2.  The winners of the contest (man, what an awesome showing from you guys!) will be posted on the above page when we launch as well.  Just refresh your page at 8PM Eastern.

Yes, this is our sneaky ploy to get you to look at the page.  Hey, the product is damn good, so we don't feel so bad using a little psychology to get you there.

We will promote the dickens out of the winners after we launch.

See you there tomorrow!

Posted by Mark Joyner at 10:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Are you beginning to see how easy it is?

Well, it's easy if you know what to do ... Our new course will show you how to take your music from "idea" to "dollars" step by step.

Hint: if you act fast when we launch the course on Wednesday you'll get a huge discount and some nice extras.  Meanwhile, enjoy the video ...

Posted by Mark Joyner at 5:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

Here's another short video put together by Kaching Tanker Leon Jay.  It will show you a ridiculously simple way to get some free promotion for your music (or anything else for that matter).

First, let me state that I made a mistake.  We received some rather useful feedback from some of the members about the contest.  It seems that not all musicians want to profess to the world that they want to be famous.  Or, maybe they want to be famous, but they don't want to create a video testifying such to the world.

So, we've loosened up the rules a bit.  You can now tell us simply why you want the world to hear your music - and you can even simply tell us by showing us your music as well.  Part 1 for full details.

OK, meanwhile check out this little video that will demonstrate just one of the many ways you can get almost instant free promotion for your music.  (Hint: the same site you're about to discover gives you some rather useful stats as well - also free.  Don't you love the Internet?)

Posted by Mark Joyner at 12:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Here's a quick and dirty tactic you can use to promote your music today - and start seeing results almost instantly.  It's but one of the many tactics available to you.  One important note: if you're going to write reviews, make sure they are real reviews.  Posting the same review over and over or a fake review is what I would call "net pollution."

Posted by Mark Joyner at 7:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

"Mark, you didn't give me enough time!"

That's what a good friend of mine (and genius musician) said about the contest.  It seems he's not alone.

So, we've extended the contest, and the launch of our new course, by a whole week.  (See the blog post about the contest for full details.)

And, we've decided to make it even more interesting ...

Posted by Mark Joyner at 3:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Esmee Denters taught herself how to play the guitar and sing.

With her sister's webcam, she recorded herself playing cover tunes and posted them to youtube.  She quickly became a youtube celebrity.

So what?  Well, it caught the attention of Justin Timberlake and a year after her first youtube post she was the first artist signed to Timberlake's new label.  Since then she has recorded songs with several mega stars and opened for Timberlake in Amsterdam.

OK, so she was "discovered" right.  Pure luck?  I don't think so ...

See, you don't have to get a record deal with a big label to make it big.  In fact, some  of these "Internet stars" are thumbing their nose at the big labels entirely and remaining purely "indie."

Stay tuned  ...

Posted by Mark Joyner at 10:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The first shows itunes sales in millions-per-day.  In early 2006 they exceeded 1 million music downloads a day.  (Hint: it's 2008 now.)

So what?

Well, compare it to this graph from emarketer.  It shows what will happen to digital music sales compared to physical music sales if the current trends continue.

That's right - some time next year digital music sales will surpass physical music sales.

So, is being an "Internet Music Star" not such a big deal?  Some used to think that.  The above graphs show the reality.

But there's more.  A lot more.  Stay tuned for the rest of the series.

P.S. We've added three categories for the contest (see below): Best Performance Male, Best Performance Female, and Best Performance Group. The contest is still wide open, so if you want to have your stuff promoted to 250,000 people the time to get your entry in is now.

Posted by Mark Joyner at 9:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

It's official: in 2008 it will be easier to become a rock star than at any point in history. 

By "rock star" we really mean "famous musician."  Whether you're into rock, classical, jazz, techno - whatever - it's now possible to go from "no one" to "star" sometimes literally overnight.

You don't need a label.  You don't need an agent.  You don't even need a huge budget.  (Some people do this on a zero-dollar ad budget.  It's crazy.  Read on ...)

We'll blog some jaw-dropping facts and case studies that prove this new phenomenon over the next few days as we lead up to the release of our newest course on 22 29 January 2008.  The course will show you in precise step-by-step detail everything from getting your music recorded to turning it into a #1 best-seller.

Meanwhile, here's how you can win free access to the course - and more.

In fact, four people will all win:

• Free Access to Our New Course on Online Music Promotion
• Free Access to Any Existing Simpleology Product You Don't Yet Own
• Promotion of Your Video to Our Base of Over 250,000 Customers (yep, you read that right)

Once you've submitted your entry, keep your eye on this blog for case studies and facts.

Posted by Mark Joyner at 7:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (42) | TrackBacks (0)