We are loving Tweet For A Track here at Headstream, I have already loaded up my iPhone with some gems. This tactic for sharing music is a great way for artists to promote their work and is growing in popularity amongst the ever-hungry file sharing public. Music is one of the most mentioned and discussed topics on Twitter so it only makes sense to be able to use the platform to pass music around as well as chat about it. And unlike most other file sharing tactics, this is totally legal and at the discretion of the artist. The PR tactics employed by most musicians and bands on Twitter is often in the form of a link to a MySpace or Facebook page, however, as many new artists know, the key to getting something to spread virally beyond your existing fan base is far from easy.
Tweet For A Track offers a launch pad for this and the free online tool is quickly growing in popularity. The way it works is by the artist uploading a song and then tweeting the download link to their followers. When fans click on the download link they need to send a tweet to get the download code. More people see the tweet and do the same. You can see it in action by searching for the hashtag #TFAT
Similar to the ethics of Sound Cloud, and a cheaper version of Culture Jam, this service is not only an effective way to engage with new fans but also a process that allows music to spread virally, making it seem like a steal to whoever receives it.
More and more independent artists are successfully going it alone and this should be a core tactic they employ when looking at marketing their music. Underground hip hop artist Akala, recently tweeted real supporters last forever and they do the marketing for you anyway, so in the long run a real connection is the best business. Further to that, marketing tools such as Tweet For A Track can be invaluable when trying to expose your music to a new fanbase, as well as allowing existing fans to spread the word. Unless youre Lady Gaga you need to be doing this. Plus, I need a few more tracks for my Free Stuff playlist!
With the demise of industry-leading digital platforms such as MySpace, services such Tweet for a Track and Sound Cloud are welcome additions for people to share music quickly and of course virally. Particularly as My Space announced last week that they were further integrating their services with Facebook , meaning users can easily create highly personalised, entertainment-focused streams based on their Facebook profiles.Doing so will port the likes and interests they have listed on their Facebook profiles to MySpace, where they will get a stream of entertainment content based on these interests. This will be followed by the addition of Facebook’s “Like” buttons across MySpace.
MySpace has conceded that it is no longer a social network but a social entertainment destination – think MTV for the Web 2.0 generation. To this end, the company recently overhauled its website to give its mostly young audience more ways to consume music, videos and celebrity gossip. CEO Mike Jones said that the users’ initial response to the redesign is “very, very positive.”
