Mobile music promotion for indie music makers

Independent bands and artists today are used to actively promoting their own music, often with a ferocity and passion that can't be matched by record labels.

There's little doubt that advancing technology has allowed these artists to market themselves in ways that were not possible even a few years ago.

Myspace, launched in 2001, is often credited as the spark that started the revolution, but it's technology as a whole that bands are now embracing. Mobile technology has come on in leaps and bounds in recent years, and mobile phones are the latest tool available to unsigned bands looking to make it big. If you want to promote your music then mobile phones can be a great resource.

Unlike days of yore, internet on your mobile is now cheap and fast. The biggest sites on the net are now optimised for mobiles and mobile browsing software is getting cleverer, which means the experiences of using the net at home and on your mobile are becoming more similar. There's no reason that you - and your fans - can't access your Myspace page at any time and any place, and it be just as functional as it is on a computer.

Are you on tour with your band? Why not do a tour diary and upload a daily post to your blog? Some blog platforms like Blogger have specific features for posting via your phone.

It doesn't just have to be text though; many phones now have cameras that rival dedicated digital cameras for quality. You can take pictures and videos of your gigs, studio sessions, rehearsals, whatever else, and upload them to the internet. Used in this way, mobile phones function as a convenient, all-in-one media centre, but they also give you something that standard computers can't provide: immediacy.

Wireless internet, while enjoyed by millions of computer users at home, has yet to be beamed across the countryside. Having the internet on your phone means you don't have to pop into the nearest Starbucks with a laptop to update your recording studio diary, you can simply do it on your phone.

Home-shot, behind the scenes pictures and video footage can be incredibly interesting, and uploading a series of clips to your tour diary can be a great way of making your fan base feel involved. Fans want to feel that they are a part of the band, like part of you is 'theirs', so creating engaging content can only serve to increase interest in your music. Content like this is also likely to spread virally; using mobiles, fans can use Bluetooth to swap your pictures and links to your sites among themselves, and you should do your best to encourage this. Bands such as Arctic Monkeys have used this type of viral marketing to great effect, building up massive hype before their first single release as fans swapped their songs.

Sometimes a more simple approach to mobile marketing can work too. Why not use some of your unlimited texts to let all your friends know about a gig, perhaps with a link to your website? Of course, spam can be irritating, but kind of marketing can be effective as well - especially if used moderately.

To promote your music successfully you'll need to employ a 'many-pronged' attack, using as many methods as possible such the internet, word of mouth, and traditional media such as radio and print to get yourself heard. Mobile is the latest tool that you have at your disposal, and it presents too many opportunities to be ignored.

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