*WORLD PREMIERE*
Album coming soon!

TRACKLIST:
01. Allison James (feat. Slaine)
02. When The Sun Goes Down (feat. Saigon)


03. Evil Deeds (feat. Demoz, Des Devious, & Jus Allah)


04. The Truth (feat. Supastition)

05. Thats Me (feat. Joell Ortiz)

06. The Torch (feat. King Magnetic & Reef The Lost Cauze)

07. Speakeasy (feat. Outerspace)
08. Transition Of Power (feat. M.O.P.)

09. Independence Day (feat. Block McCloud)
10. Find A Way (feat. Lorrie Doriza)

West Up. WCR regular El Prez just sent us a new banger and some info, check it out below:

It’s El Prez with another certified Cali classic…right in time for the Summer heat! El Prez x DNEZ are The Dropouts and this is the first track off my latest tape, “Animal Style!” Dropping Cookout Day, July ’09!

Strictly for my Cali Kush Smokers and Medical Card Holders…

“Cop Trees” -The Dropouts (prod by Jansport J) [Free Download]

DJ’s SPIN THIS SHIT at ya Clubs, BBQ’s, Pool Parties, and Backyard Boogie’s etc!!

Spread the word, from the Beach to the Blogs, and everywhere in between, cause it’s gonna be an Endless Summer!!

…Stay tuned for The Dropouts “El Prez & DNEZ’s Excellent Adventure” dropping later this year aaaaannnnndddd……..

The follow up to El Prez’s 2008 stellar debut, “Prezanomics”, we poppin “Bottles on the White House Lawn” Sept 09

Enjoy it and hit up Prez’s official MySpace for more info.

Chuuch.

-BIGWILL
Go to Source

West Up. We’re excited to introduce you to a new artist from Sacramento named Bueno. Representing both Sacramento and the Noyz Music Group, Bueno has been doing his thing for a minute and recently reached out to WCR with an absolute banger called “Check This Out” featuring the Bay’s Mistah FAB. Don’t take my word for it though, check it out yourself below:

Bueno – Check This Out feat. Mistah FAB [Free Download]

We also have a few music videos from Bueno, including a street mix with Akon called “Get Away” and another called “Around The World” feat The Jacka and Dubb 20. Both can be watched below:

Bueno (Feat.Akon)-Get Away from Bueno on Vimeo.
Bueno f/ The Jacka and Dubb 20 – “Around the World” music video from In Yo FACE Filmworks on Vimeo.

Chuuch.

-BIGWILL
Go to Source

Is Juice (Phoenix, AZ) the new face of West Coast Hip Hop? Well, Ozone West (The Magazine) thought so, and they felt so compelled they put him on the cover of the newest issue.

Share It: Digg |  My Google | My Yahoo

In no particular order!

1. 1. Join MySpace, add friends, leave comments.
   2. Start a MySpace Group related to your band and/or genre.
   3. Join MySpace Groups related to your genre.
   4. Start a MySpace fan site to support your band – add friends, leave comments.
   5. Start a MySpace fan Group to support your band.
   6. Add Unsigned Band Promotion to your MySpace Friends List.
   7. Rotate your band’s MySpace avatar regularly.
   8. Network and forge relationships with anyone in the business!
   9. Tell your fans about your Website and MySpace blogs.
   10. Visit and post on the same Forums and Blogs that your fans use.
   11. Start a blog on your Website and MySpace. Then see: hypem.com.
   12. Leave comments in blogs related to your genre.
   13. Create a short, snappy signature that includes your band’s name and URL for blogs and forums.
   14. Answer questions in genre related forums and blogs.
   15. Try using a question for the title of your forum/blog posts.
   16. Use your band’s name as your URL (www.YourBandName.com). If you can’t get your band’s name as your domain name, make your domain name short and memorable.
   17. Get a .com or .co.uk URL.
   18. Put your URL on everything: CD covers, CDs, videos leaflets at gigs, posters, flyers, business cards, press releases and stationary, even put it on it’s own piece of paper.
   19. Double check the printer got it right!
   20. Put the band’s name and URL clearly onto T-shirts, and make sure you always wear them.
   21. Design your flyers with a simple bold image and the minimum of (easy to read) text.
   22. You will have greater success and less competition if the topic/theme of your website is original!
   23. Introduce a new angle, like weaving the themes of your songs into the website design, it may also help with the look and feel of the website – this is almost “branding your band”.
   24. Brand your band with a product that’s related to your band’s genre.
   25. Brand your band with the help of a local fashion boutique.
   26. Always wear clothes that reflect your music.
   27. Get your hair re-styled – so you look different!
   28. Sort out your Meta Tags. See: Meta tag generator.
   29. Improve your band’s opening page. See: Band promotion for unsigned bands – if you only do one thing, do this.
   30. Sort out your band’s name, Webhosting and Website design requirements. See: Webhosting for unsigned bands.
   31. Get yourself a Website. See: A free band website template.
   32. Set up a music store and sell your band’s toons. See: How to make money online by selling music.
   33. Create an Online Promotion Package or an Electric Promotion Kit… Whatever… See: Online Promotion Package.
   34. Get the new – Genre meta tag for bands [suck it and see!]
   35. Link to other bands (same genre) from your Website, blogs and forum.
   36. Here is a list of where to add your band’s profile and music.
   37. Aim to build an online community, forums may help as they could give valuable feedback. They also may not!! I think blogs work best, combined with an email newsletter.
   38. Keep it all local to start with, build a local fanbase.
   39. Include a “Tell A Friend” link with your press release – easy with JavaScript.
   40. Include a “Bookmark This Page” link – easy with JavaScript.
   41. When asking for a link, always provide your link code.
   42. Make sure your Website is easy to read (no text/background clashes).
   43. Make sure your Website is easy to navigate (provide text links).
   44. Create a link page to your reviews and your reviewers.
   45. Speed-up the download time of your Website.
   46. Try some search engine optimisation. See: band promotion for unsigned bands
   47. Look for keywords related to your genre and use them on your Website.
   48. Join/start a Webring related to your genre.
   49. When setting promotion or marketing targets be realistic, the Web’s a tough place. Recruit a promoter (fan, friend or family).
   50. Create a newsletter about your band and genre. See: Band promotion by email gig newsletter
   51. Write a press release and post it to www.musicmog.com.
   52. Seek out, find and use young and exciting band photographers. They often work for free
   53. Create an extensive gallery of band photographs.
   54. Start a street-team to hand out flyers, post stickers…
   55. Start an e-team to spread the word about you in blogs, forums, MySpace…
   56. Start a fan-club with its own Website.
   57. Ask fans to submit your bloggings to Social Bookmarking Websites.
   58. Ask fans to: buy your music, spread the word, tell a friend…
   59. Ask your local record/music shop to give away your free CD/demo.
   60. Give away free T-shirts to achieving members of your fan club.
   61. Run a contest!
   62. Find out where your fans are.
   63. Ask your e-team to target the MySpace profiles of the bands that have influenced you.
   64. Ask your e-team to target the MySpace profiles of the bands who sound like you.
   65. Ask your e-team to target the MySpace profiles of music magazines.
   66. Ask your e-team to target the MySpace profiles of local bands.
   67. Ask your e-team to target the MySpace profiles of local organisations.
   68. Do some free gigs with other local bands.
   69. Make a free CD sampler with local bands of the same genre.
   70. Offer free stuff that relates to your genre. Buy it cheap from eBay.
   71. Non-profit organisations often need support at local events. If your band fits the bill, offer to play.
   72. Tell everyone the kinds of events/gigs you’re happy to play next to your contact information.
   73. Offer to play at fan club members’ (local) private parties, BBQs, etc.
   74. Write a controversial/political song.
   75. Translate your lyrics into foreign languages.
   76. Publish an eBook of your lyrics, poems and photographs.
   77. Make a video.
   78. Put your band’s video on YouTube.
   79. Create a ringtone.
   80. Exchange gig dates with local bands and bands of the same genre. see Syndicated Gig Listings.
   81. Trade links for links. You need links.
   82. Create an e-card.
   83. Search Google for Websites related to your genre. See: Genre meta tag for bands.
   84. Search MySpace for Websites related to your genre – add them as friends. See: Genre meta tag for bands.
   85. If you’re immersed in the Internet, you may have forgotten that most people still get the majority of their marketing messages through traditional channels. Post a flyer in the local shop.
   86. Create a promotional message.
   87. Ask your fans, friends and family to Text their friends with your: promotional message, next gig date, Website address…
   88. Research your genre within Wikipedia i.e. “rock bands wiki”.
   89. Write a Wikipedia article about your genre, add a link to your band’s Website.
   90. Submit your band’s Website details to Wikipedia. Don’t forget DMOZ.
   91. Give something away, it doesn’t have to be branded. Try Mr Pound!
   92. Sell cheap memory sticks of your gig.
   93. Target your local press with articles, press releases, news…
   94. Also try the specialist music press with same…
   95. E-zines always need content, give them some.
   96. Research file-sharing Websites like Napster ;D
   97. Don’t rely on MySpace, get a Website.
   98. Start your first database/emailing list by pooling your band members’ email address books.
   99. Send out your first email-shot, ask everyone to buy your latest MP3 for 75p.
   100. Recruit an enthusiastic aunt to look after your email list.
   101. Find/seek your band’s “niche” in the marketplace.
   102. Create a theme for your Website and MySpace related to your niche.
   103. Ask your fans, friends and family to support you.

Search Engines & Band Promotion

* Submit your band’s website to the search engines, i.e. AltaVista, Excite, Google, HotBot and Lycos, etc.
* It might take time to get listed (1-2 months), keep submitting every two – three weeks.
* Don’t use submission software to automatically register your website with the search engines. Go to each one and fill in the form, OK, this does take time, but it’s worth it.
* Search engines like site maps with textual links.
* Don’t submit the same URL more than once per day. If you hit a problem and you are not sure if your submission has been accepted, go back the next day.

Linking For Bands

* When asking for a link it’s a good idea to provide the code! You can start promoting your band now by exchanging links with us, here’s some code:

target=”_top”>Unsigned Band Promotion

* Promoting Gig Dates – add your band’s gig dates to other bands’ websites by using easy JavaScript, syndicated gig listings will promote your band’s gigs by networking links.
* Blog etiquette: don’t ask for a link, if you give one they should reciprocate and visa versa. Most bloggers keep an eye on their stats, so should you.
* A link to your website is like a vote for your website. The more votes you have the better you will do.
* Fans have websites! They will review your music and give you a link. You just have to ask.
* Don’t forget content! nobody wants to link to a boring website.
* I’m not sure about webrings? Like minded websites link to the next member website along a sort of chain. The only real beneficiary is the website at the hub who is usually the one who set-up the webring in the first place! Oh, and that’s you of course, don’t bother joining one.
* Don’t waste your time with Banners (unless you have the artistic talent to create an outstanding one). I think that most banner advertising is ineffective and isn’t really worth the money. The number of people who click-through from banner advertising is getting less and less.
* Garden Lighting Berkshire – a very basic demonstration of content and linking in action with a hint of band promotion and vitriol thrown in for good measure.
* Private Health Insurance UK – another basic demonstration of content and linking in action with a hint of “The Long Tail”. Be found for something else other than your band’s name.
* Become an affiliate for other websites and sell products and services from your website. It is a simple way to earn a little extra cash, i.e. you could sell Apple’s iPod portable MP3 player! link is an advertisement Find out how at Commission Junction
* If you run a Music Website, Earn EXTRA MONEY by joining the Easybe Affiliate Program
* Selling music online is a business. Your band is a business. Be business-like.
* To make money online your band needs: clarity (a clear objective), a strategy and focus.
* Set up a shop and sell your music downloads. It’s easy with the 1-2-3 music store specially designed for independent musicians and record labels. Check them out: link is an advertisement easybe.com
* Don’t crowd your website with banners and products. Sell one or two things and sell them well.
* Don’t just stick a PayPal donate button in to your website and hope for the best. Offer something for it like a link or a credit on your next album or even dedicate a track.
* Sell The Band’s Merchandise at your gigs. Here’s some ideas: Badges, Bumper Stickers, Caps, Hats and Visors, CDs and Demos, Drum Sticks, Fake Tattoos, Frisbees, Greeting Cards, Guitar Picks, Imprinted Bic Pens, Key-Rings, Lanyards, Lighters, Matchbooks, Mugs, Portfolio of Signed Pictures, Posters, Stickers, Sweatshirts, T-shirts, Wall Calendars, etc. For an online solution I recommend GoPromos.
* Sell The Band’s Merchandise online. You can set up a shopping cart when you use link is an advertisement iPowerWeb Hosting. The package: $7.95 per month, 500 Megs of Space, 30 Gigs of Transfer, 300 Emails + Free Setup & Free Domain Name. With: OS Commerce Shopping Cart, Agora Shopping Cart or PayPal Shopping Cart.

Email Marketing For Bands

* The Internet is the perfect place for the dissemination of information and email is at its heart. A website is the perfect place to gather fans email addresses so you can inform them of your next gig dates. Keeping your fans informed is the main action that will pay big dividends as it will increase the size of your audience.Question: What are you going to do with the email information/addresses?
Normally they are used to send gig information, e-zines and e-newsletters!

Question: How are you going to send out 5,000 emails each month?
You need an email client to help with this! The whole thing usually comes as a package.
* You will need:
o a method of collecting the Names and Email Addresses
o a method of keeping securely and maintaining the Mailing List
o a suitable email client to send out your emails, e-zines and e-newsletters etc.
o an understanding of Privacy and a Privacy Policy. NEVER send Spam, have a look at: The Can-Spam Act 2003
o The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) have an online Privacy policy generator: The DMA online Privacy policy generator
* The Do-It-Yourself-Professionally Way: get a perl script from: PerlArchive.com. You need to have an enabled Web host that can run Perl scripts.
* The Professional Solution – If You Want To Look Good: the easiest, quickest and often the most economic way to get up and running with a system that will collect the email addresses of your site’s visitors (with a Join Our List sign-up) and then enable you to compile and send a compelling email newsletter or gig announcement is to get Constant Contact.You get: A customisable website visitor sign up form for your website; Professional templates (newsletters, promos, invites and more); Add a “forward to friend” to every email; Manages and hosts your subscriber list (including unsubscribe and bounce management); Automatic delivery in the correct format, HTML or text; Real-time reporting (including opens, who clicked on which links and more);Constant Contact is easy and affordable, you can even try it for free as they offer a 60 day free trial, which I think is worth a go.Click here to sign up for your Free trial with Constant Contact
* The Free Method onelist.com, yourmailinglistprovider.com and bravenet.com all give a free service, but personally, I’m not keen on the advertising, of course you can remove the ads with cash. Google Groups and Yahoo Groups are also a free way to start, but they do not look very professional.This is the way I’d start to collect email addresses from your fans: include an email form on your band’s website using simple HTML.
o Obviously you need to include Your Email Information and Your Style (CSS) The mailing list form sends you an email. In fact it works exactly the same as clicking on an email link. The person who fills in the form with their name and email address, will understand as they proceed.
o This is what the received email will look like:
sauce=website
flavour=subscribe to mailing list
name=Joe Bloggs
email=their@email.address
o The fan who just subscribed to your mailing list is HOT, and is the most receptive to buying a CD or merchandise, so always reply straight away to their request with details of how to purchase your products and/or your next gig info. etc.
o Protect your mailing list – it is pure gold. Don’t give out their details to anyone. Send the emails individually or use the BCC option in your email client and always include a signature with how to unsubscribe.
* In The Real World: provide a simple form at gigs to collect: name, address, phone number (for SMS) and email address.

* A website and an email newsletter go together like Rock and Roll.

read more tips

Are Your Press Kits Going Straight Into the Trash?

Make sure your publicity materials are actually
read by editors, writers, booking agents, program directors and other industry people!

Sometimes it’s called a press kit. Other times it’s referred to as a promo package or media kit. Whatever you call it, this collection of music marketing tools will help you get more gigs, media exposure, radio airplay, industry attention and more.

However, you should also know that more than 95 percent of the press kits sent out by artists, publicists and record labels end up in the trash can. Those aren’t very good odds. It’s not easy to get pumped up when you consider that rate of failure.

But there’s a good reason all those press kits are being ignored: Most of the promo packages clogging up the postal system are lackluster attempts at marketing. They are hastily thrown together without much thought or purpose behind them.

Why am I so certain of this?

For 10 years I published and served as managing editor of a music magazine in the Midwest USA. I’ve seen enough bad media kits to make anyone’s head spin. But I also recall the rare gems that caught my attention — the well-thought-out press kits that sold me on an act’s worthiness, inspired me to pop in a CD, and quickly motivated me to assign a feature story on the act.

And the press kits that caught my attention were not the flashiest or most expensive. In fact, the most effective ones were quite simple. The thing that set them apart was that the person who put them together knew a few things that the vast majority of musicians were clueless about.

No doubt about it. Video is huge on the Internet. Over the past six months alone, video has exploded online. Did you know that YouTube alone now delivers about 100 million videos a day to its users? And much of it is music.

Are you making the most of this new online music promotion opportunity?

Have you seen the treadmill video from Ok Go? It was a simple but creative concept that spread like crazy online and primed music fans for the band’s debut CD release.

Or how about the regular video clips published by indie artist Terra Naomi? During a two-month period in 2006, webcam music videos she produced in her apartment were viewed 2.5 million times on YouTube. Because of this exposure, Terra sold 2,000 copies of her new CD in eight days.

Don’t kid yourself, online music video promotion is hot … and GETTING HOTTER!

To help you create, promote and profit from online video, I just published a jam-packed, 22-page special report called “How to Use Video to Promote Your Music Online.”

Make Your Own DIY Videos in No Time!

“There’s never been a better time for indie artists to use video to market their music, and Rap Publicity’s guide has tons of great information to help get you started. You’ll be out there making your own DIY videos in no time!” -Dave Cool, Director, What is INDIE?

“Rap Publicity’s new report is a must-read primer for anyone who wants to dive into the world of social network sites like YouTube, MySpace, Revver, and more. Timely and practical advice for anyone promoting music online.”
-Jay Moonah, podcaster, blogger and musician for Uncle Seth

Here’s just some of what you’ll find in this one-of-a-kind report:

• 9 ways to produce music videos on a shoestring budget

• Why the surge in online video is like the birth of MTV — only better, because now everyone has equal access to the “airwaves”

• 4 places to find indie film directors who will produce your music videos for free

• How to get fans to create your music videos for you

• 14 Music Video Themes you can use to create clips your fans will love (many of these will surprise you)

• Where to find free, low-cost and more-cost video editing software options

• 7 ways to get more marketing mileage from your online videos

• Artist Profile: In an exclusive interview, Terra Naomi explains what led to 2.5 million video plays on YouTube and 2,000 CD sales

• 28 places to host and stream your videos online for free

Get Years of Video Knowledge in One Hour!

“Ideas and resources that took me years to discover will take any budding video-maker under an hour to learn. Get this report and start using it to promote your music online today!” -Lee Mueller, independent filmmaker, 100th Monkey Productions

“Nobody knows music marketing like Bob. Now his new e-report tackles the exciting and powerful technology of video head on!”
-Scott Ginsberg, speaker and author of How to Be That Guy: 47 Ways to Create an Unforgettable Brand That Magnetizes More Business