Merchandise and Marketing
Printing Services!OverNight Prints
Another Great Online printer that can give you Business Cards, Posters and postcards for a heavy discounted price.
Printing for Less!
This is a great Easy to use printing service. Well worth checking out!
iPrint.com
Inexpensive Business Cards, sometimes some great specials.
Print Pelican
This is a great online printer with reduced prices and the ability to do short runs. Business Cards, Posters, post cards and even Band Calendars!
Branding Merchandise
FK Custom Imaging
This is a really great place to get embroidered hats, screen printed T-shirts, etc. They do short runs and are very musician friendly. Ask for Fred or Terry, I highly recommend them!
Synergy Ad Specialists have some really cool merch for the working band. 3D CD covers, Shaker Eggs, Freesbies, etc etc. Well worth checking out.
www.shirtcity.us
Definitely worth checking out ..
Flashing Blinking Lights
Ok this stuff is just too cool and it is just fun to check out the stuff they have! This is one way to really light up a gig!!
Emblematics - Enameled pins, Lapel pins, coins, Patches, key chains, etc. I have used this company personally and they have great prices .. and great service! Anyone who has a L.I. Music Hall of Fame Pin can see the quality for themselves.
PrintGlobe.com - Printed Promotional Products - keychains, mugs, signs, custom guitar picks, Shakers, Kazoos, you name it!
Build Your Own Website!
Step One - Register your own Domain
GoDaddy.com Hosting Plans
Registry Wizards
Dotster.com
Step Two - Find A Web Hosting Company
ImHosted.com Web Hosting
WebWizards
HostMonster Web Hosting $6.95
FastDomain Hosting $4.95
IX WebHosting $3.95/mo packages
HostGator $10 Unlimited websites
HostRocket.Com - Web Hosting
BlueHost - $6.95/mo!
Apollo Hosting!
Your AN Hosting
BlueWho Web Hosting
Step Three - Find Web Creation Software
Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Standard
Dreamweaver CS3 - Windows
Microsoft Expression Web
Macromedia Flash Basic 8.0
Or you can Find A Web Creator
Starling Graphics - burdbrayne@yahoo.com Creator of the www.liblues.org and many others. Specializes in Long Island Bands!
Gary Sellers - bluezcat@aol.com of course he created www.garysellers.com
Step Four - Add Money Generating Links and Banners
LinkShare Referral Program
Commission Junction - Tunecore, Expedia and over 2000 other advertisers!
AD Sense - Get paid every time someone just clicks on an ad!
Google Ads - Ads from Google that you can place on your website. Again as people click and buy you get a commission!
Speedy Ads- This is another "Click Through" ad site where you get paid for every "Click" on their ads.
Step Five - Get it placed in the search engines!
Search Engine Optimization - Some good no nonsense information on how to get your website to come up in search engines around the world
Submit your site to Google! - Submit your site directly to Google! It's fast, it's easy and .. IT'S FREE .. this will speed up the process of getting found on the web!
Submit your site to YAHOO! - Yep, you too can have your site fast tracked in the Yahoo search engine. Just submit it here for Free! You can also add your site the the Yahoo Directory listings
Submit Your Site to MSN - Once again here is a FREE way to get your site listed on MSN searches .. you don't need to pay any high priced search company .. just submit and go!
Alexa - Again a free submission and they crawl your site(oooh that sounds freaky don't it!?) and get you into the search queries of different search engines.
Build-U-Web - Hit a whole bunch of Web engines in one shot! IT's Free and what the heck .. the more engines you get in the more potential traffic you will get on your site!
AllsiteCafe - 75 search engines worldwide with one submission .. hey why not!!
Management and Promotion Companies
Pitbull Management - I have a lot of respect for these Girls. They are working hard and thinking outside the box, check them out and learn from them .. they have a lot to offer.
Music Business Software
Indie Band ManagerI had the opportunity to work with this software and I can definitely say that if you are serious about your business, this is an invaluable tool. You can download it and use it for free trial. So if you don't believe me try it out!
Books
Yea, you remember those things. They were big in the pre internet days. But seriously this is the best resource for getting good information and keeping it at hand so you can reference it later. I don't know a single music professional that does not have a large library of books in their office! In addition to the resources below, Making a Scene has established our own Book Store where I Have gleaned out the best of the best for you to view. No more searching and Hunting, just click below and go to the
Click Here for our BOOK STORE!
 This is a definitive list of resources that serves as a great starting point for a new Booking Agent or a band that is looking to start their touring book and expand their contacts. |
Again this is another great resource to start to fill up your contact Database. A crucial first step if you want to take your band to the next level. |
Music Library - Some good stuff here .. worth checking out!
Sell your Music
I have personally used Tunecore to get a UPC code and to get my music on Itunes. I was Amazed at how quickly sales started to rack up. This is a great way to administer a whole collection of digital download sites in one place. I can highly recommend Tunecore as the way to go if you want to sell your music digitally!
Digital Music Download Cards
Now this is one of the coolest things I have seen in a long time!! Here is the final missing link between the independent artist and digital downloads. You can now sell digital downloadable music directly at your merch table (just like you sell your CD's Now) and you receive all the money upfront .. You control the price and content. You design YOUR own graphic on the card and everything about the card is artist specific, The front end, the digital delivery system and the content is 100% under your control! This has so many uses and potential I cannot stress enough how important this is going to be in the future.. and the musicians that get in on this early are the ones that are going to look really cutting edge and professional! CHECK IT OUT!!
Drop Cards - This company gives you 100mb FREE Hosting and prices for cards can drop as low as 30cents each! Joan Jett just did a deal with them and they look like real contenders in the market! Again the minimum order is 100 cards, which brings the per unit cost to about .50 cents a card. But, they do charge a setup fee of $50 and a reorder fee of $25.
But they still are the cheapest in the long run.
For example 100 cards $50+$50setup=$100 and 500 cards would cost $200+$50setup=$250 .. A reorder would be $75($50+$25Reorder) for 100 cards and $225($200+$25reorder) for 500 cards.
Music Manufacturing Services - I interviewed Aaron Zarn on my last show and he had some really great idea's on how to use the card. They also manufacture CD's and DVD's for both independent artists and corporate clients. And because of their market strength they could be a real player. Their Back End site is ISONGCARD . They give you a 1 year subscription for free hosting with each order you make with them. And that order can be as little as 100 cards. They are a bit more expensive. Their prices run from $1 per unit for 100 cards and go as low as .49 per unit when you hit the 1,000 mark.
DiscRevolt - thought they have a really nice front end, I did have some problems finding enough end users up to this point to determine how strong they are. They also sell digital downloads generically as well as the download cards .. which means you can search other artists when you get to their front end. This kind of defeats the purpose of artist specific cards. But they are worth checking out and keeping an eye on. Minimum Order is 100 cards and all orders come with FREE Hosting! That brings their per unit cost to $99 for 100 cards .. and down as low as .45 cents for 1000 cards. 500 Cards will run you $250.
IF Anyone has used any of these companies and you have some comments good or band on your experiences .. I would love to hear them! Drop me a line at rich@makingasceneli.com
Create your own affiliate program where you can get your fans to sell your products on their websites and you give them a commission. It's well worth checking out. Joe Bonamassa is doing it right now at www.joebonamassa.com the software is available at www.idevdirect.com
Music Business
Artist House Music This website looks really interesting with a lot of great resources and videos on all aspects of the Music Business. Worth spending some time Cruising around it's pages.
Moses Avalon - Author of the book "Confessions of a Record Producer" and creator of the "Confessions Workshop" music business workshop! I cannot recommend this book enough, if you are serious about making music your business then this is a MUST READ! Check out the links above to get the book (and several others by Moses Avalon) at Amazon.com ..
Music Stores
Sam Ash Started here on Long Island and has been a staple of the Long Island Music scene forever. Sam Ash was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame with Billy Joel .. who I am sure shopped there many times as he was getting famous! Pop down on any given day and you never know who you will bump into.Long Island Societies!
There are quite a few great organizations that you can join and participate with to help make a Long Island Music Scene happen. All of these groups are working hard to do just that.. Stop by and join and help make things happen.
Long Island Blues Society
Long Island Music Hall of Fame
Island Songwriters Showcase
Huntington Folk Music Society
Mailing Lists you Have to be on!
Long Island Music Scene - The largest of all the general Long Island Music scene Mailing lists. There are a few others but none this large and active.
Long Island Blues Jam - This is the granddaddy of the yahoo lists and one of the largest. Don't worry if you don't play the blues, the blues jams are a great way to meet musicians and horn your chops no matter what style of music you play.
B# Newsletter - This is a neat Yahoo group by Kenny Love that deals with the music business. Hey for free you join and get some good info.
Recording Studios
Midnight Circus Studios - This is my Studio! 631-780-6079 I have been a recording engineer since the early 1980's.I'm fully digital with 24 tracks of I/O's. Which means I can record 24 tracks in one pass .. for software I use Sonar 7 Producer .. Waves Mercury .. and my interface hardware is the MOTU 2408 Mark II's and 1224, Tube amps, Drums, guitars, Bass Amp, etc. This is my Home project Studio, though I will admit I'm maybe more than a few steps above most home projects setups, which is a result of doing this a long time. I don't take on a lot of clients but the projects I do take on I always try to go the extra mile and make sure it's done right. You can hear some of my recordings on my myspace page Myspace.com/midnightcircusstudios .. I also have both an 8 track and 24 track remote recording setup to go on location to record live shows. This is something I have a lot of experience with as well. If you want your live show recorded or if you are doing a video shoot, give me a call I have a lot of Video experience and my prices are reasonable!
Sabella Studios - 516-484-0862 Jim Sabella is a real pro and his studio has been around forever. His equipment list reads like a wish list for every studio owner I know! His experience is undeniable. A true state-of-the-art recording facility just 25 minutes east of Manhattan in picturesque Roslyn Heights Village on the North Shore of Long Island. Encircled in tall pines and oaks he offers a comfortable working environment and competitive rates.
Sound Surgeon Long Island - 1041H West Jericho Tpke, Smithtown, NY Myspace page is www.myspace.com/sslistudios 631-864-2450
Blokhed Studios - Musician owned and operated 631-586-4111, 516-578-7805
Winning Touch Recording - 718-413-8318 email bperina@winningtouchrecording.com
Suffolk Recording Studios - Patchogue, NY 631-289-9818
Tree House Studios - 516-729-8315
Rehearsal
Jam House - 141 Cortland St, Lindenhurst, NY 631-225-6969
Joe's Garage - 516-794-7699
Audiomatic Inc - West Babylon 516-712-4878 and their Myspace
Sound Room Studios - Farmingdale and West Babylon - Over 30 Rooms! 516-279-1256 516-971-0298
Ultimate Sound Rehearsal - Ronkonkoma 631-647-5603
Recording and Rehearsal
Dare Studios - 261F Suburban Ave, Deer Park, NY 631-243-2377
Lyric Studios - 134 Fulton Ave, Garden City Park, NY 516-739-2500
The A Room - Hicksville NY 516-433-7666
Ultimate Sound Studio - 66a Union Ave, Ronkonkoma, NY 631-647-5603
Recording, Rehearsal and Music Videos
EKO Productions - These guys are great! They have a great facility for live videos and recording. I'm putting them under music videos because they are really good at the multi-media aspect that they defy any other classification. Rehearsal, Recording, video and multi-media production .. give them a call.
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