How to Bootleg Your Own Music for Fame Fortune & Profit!

​(uploaded this rough draft, still working on the visuals that correspond, and eventually a video, stay tuned,
​feed back from personal experiences welcomed and encouraged especially if you give permission to share with others, thanx)
 
So we have all heard the proverbial story,

some one, some where, just uploads a video to a social media platform, and "BOOM" it gets a Kaplillion Hits and they are a Mega Star over night . . . the problem with that story is, it's never any one we know, more importantly it's never "YOU"!

Why not? It seems to happen every day to so many people?

While yes that may be true, it is only the partial truth.

I am about to reveal to you the inside secrets, that are not really secrets at all but a simple formula to navigate and master the art of self publishing in the music marketplace as an independent Artist.

At this point so we are clear, this is not an article on how to create music, or compose or on how to be creative, this article assumes you are already that quality and furthermore assumes you also have a product to release to the public such as an Album or Song.

So, if you have self qualified that this is for you and are still reading then let me guess, you busted your ass writing incredible music, you then went to great lengths to record this new masterpiece.  Then you spend months in post production editing and working on details, you then have really cool artwork done up, you get a facebook page for it and maybe even a youtube channel, you go to one of those online self publishing mega corporations like CD Baby or Tunecore that will send your music to a gagillion radio staions across the globe and will make it available across every social media platform imaginable on the world wide web all the while collecting royalties on your behalf

wow, sounds great, sign me up . . . .

and then . . . . wait for it, . . . . wait for it, . . . . .

crickets - AKA NOTHING

Well not counting the one download your mom bought, the couple of views that were yours because you wanted to check on it like a new born baby.

If this has happened to you then keep reading, it this scenario never happened to you then go back to playing video games or what ever it is you do.

Now for those that have self qualified & can relate to that or a similar scenario and are still here reading,

Congratulations! You live in the Real World!!!

So what is the majick that makes it all happen, well, I do not know, but what I do know is simple and works.  What I can show you will not guarantee you any amount of success but it will show you proven ways to navigate through today's musical marketplace.

Lets start with the internet, this is where most of your work will be done in this new era.

My strategy is simple, I took all of the "Old School" real world techniques from going from a "Garage Band" and taking that to the next level to a "Local Band", then a "Touring Band" and applied those proven techniques and proven applications to the digital realm of the World Wide Internet and guess what, not only can this formula be applied but it can be scaled and tailored to specifically your needs.

Wow, then this must be some kind of majic, . . .

Well if it is, here is the trick . . . acytually this is my second story, and unlike the first which results in crickets, this one delivers . . . .


The internet is called the "information highway" for a reason.

So lets think of it as exactly that a HIGHWAY.

Now lets think of your "Album" or "Your Song" as your "Vehicle", after all you can't travel down the Highway without a "Vehicle".

Now Lets think of your facebook page as your "Driveway", after all you will need a place to park your vehicle when you are not traveling down the information highway.

your youTube page is now your "Garage" as you will need a place to long term park and take care of all your "Vehicles".

any other social media sites, as well as websites consider as Clubs, Arenas, Venues, etc . . .

O.K. so I hope you are starting to visualize the Internet now as a little mini real world all linked with this really cool highway. (ya no sh!t, I know all that already is what you are probably thinking).

Now go reread the top story again but now think of it like this mini world and tell me where we all went wrong.

The solution is literally sitting right in front of our faces all along . . . .

our "Vehicle" you know the one we crafted and perfected, you know that one . . . .

IT'S PARKED!!!!!!
YOU MUST AS WITH ANY VEHICLE PUT GAS IN IT AND DRIVE IT OTHERWISE IT WILL JUST SIT THERE AND DO NOTHING, LITERALLY!!!!!
(bet you didn't know that one)

So let's add "Gas" to the equation, "Gas" will be defined as any where you chose to buy gas, such as Google Adwords, facebook, twitter, youTube, instagram, etc . . .

We literally live in an era where pay for play is not only legal but expected.

Here is how I had to Bootleg myself, meaning my own copyrighted works of art, just so I could self promote and grow effectively. Let me explain real simply what I did.

My Mega Corp.Self Publishing Label makes sure to keep track of any one that infringes on my musical publishing rights, including myself, this can be turned into an advantage.

Obviously they release my "Vehicle" to many outlets, but what they never do or claim to do is promote it, that is left to you.

​If you really thought your music or craft was that awesome that all you had to do is just have it uploaded to the internet, . . . then you severely deluded your self and set yourself up for disappointment without even realizing it.

Ask yourself one question, which major label artist does not advertise?
Which new movie coming out never advertises?

Your suped-up mega vehicle is sitting on the side of the road and it won't move!!!!!
Of course not, put some gas it it and drive it, it really is that simple.
So, here are some of the benefits to Bootlegging your own music:

A: you control when and where you drive it (where you choose to market it)
B: you control the look, length, and artistic style of the video you upload of your vehicle instead of relying on a cookie cutter stamp out video
C: you choose any and all links back to your other platforms such as band website, twitter account, facebook, etc,  . . ."
D: and this one by far is my favorite, you are privy to all the metrics, and I cant over-stress how important this is, I would use keywords on ads and webpages only to find out later via the metrics which words were working and which were not this allows you to correct your ads in real time.
E. Collateral Damage: the best part is the collateral damage received by driving your "Vehicle" on the information highway, here are a couple - my subscribers and followers grow quicker, this is huge because they are making a commitment to check out your next release or upload which means they liked what they heard and want more, that my friends is what this is all about, creating a fan base one person at a time!  Having my other uploads uh I mean "Vehicles" watched more is also some collateral damage, funny how driving one vehicle makes all the vehicles more popular all of a sudden.
F: The one you have all really been wanting to hear from word one of this article, SALES!!!
Yes, sales are also collateral damage 

uh oh, why is that considered collateral damage and not the main event your asking?!?!?

Well, like I stated, these are "Old School" ways of moving from a garage band to a successful working band, sales ironically are a bi-product of that adventure, if you are doing it for the money, then this article probably wasn't for you, it's not to say you wont make money, you very well may, but this method places the emphasis on doing what you love, making music, not making money.

Here is some basic math on how you can drive your "Vehicle" for practically Free

I released a 14 song pianoFORTE Album,
I used Tunecore as my self publishing agent
I then uploaded a single video to youtube with all 14 tracks knowing that their cookie cutter method was going to upload the album as individual tracks, this way, I also have something that is unique.
youtube then flagged my upload as having copyrighted content, and told me no worries they would run ads and send them to the copyright owner via tunecore, since that is still me, no worries, basically I just bootlegged my own music.

I then  used Google adwords to place the video as a choice to any one that was searching for "piano", "instrumental" (this is where being able to change these words on the fly is crucial)

After that I picked the location I want my song uh vehicle to drive to, it could be a country, a city, multiple cities or countries, you choose.

After driving your vehicle you can view the metrics and guide the car better, think of the metrics as GPS, with this tool you can lower your cost, maximize the areas that like your vehicle and avoid the areas that dont, and all of it in real time, . . . (for the most part)

so, ya, back to the basic math part, I was able to have my vehicle available for people to test drive for around .02 cents a ride, but remember there are 14 tracks all of which are running ads, so, even if I only get 1/2 cent per add, it still totals .07 cents minus the .02 cent cost of acquisition so each view yields me $0.05 cents whoo hooo, I'm rich!!! (no seriously, scale that out over 5 years)

Think about it though this is a self perpetuating system, and you can spend as little as $1.00 a day or less on gas or you can spend $1,000.00 dollars or more a day, the choice is yours and the results should be the same, so what this means is just like the Big Boys you now know the big secret and the majick of how to have your music go viral.

It's called "PAID PROMOTION" and it's a practice that goes back to the beginning of time, but for some reason on the internet we forget this rule and think all we have to do is upload our craft.

Luckily we do live in times that allows us to promote ourselves in this way, because as we have all seen what happens to ourselves when we leave it up to some one else, it will never happen.

Hope this article helps with your musical project, and keep in mind any expert will tell you if you have a $100.00 dollars to spend on advertising, spend $1.00 a day for 100 days you will get way better results than if you spend $100.00 in one day, while yes that will get your general numbers up high quick, they will be hollow, meaning in one day you can not create a fan base, in order to do that you need to be in their presence more frequently and it is that frequency that results in a true admirer of your work.

So remember, in this day and age it is no longer good enough to just upload something on the internet.  If you do not promote it in some way it will sit still and wither away, further more you might begin to question if you are even good or not, you are!, you can not park a car and expect to win the race, it is time you gas that sucker up and get in the drivers seat, it is time to win that race.