Promoting music online - top tips for bands and musicians

What fascinates me about the relationship between rock and roll and the internet is this: it is now possible for artists to have profitable music careers which take place mainly - or exclusively - online.

Using the net, bands can now conduct significant PR and marketing campaigns, organise global distribution, get airplay, sell merchandise and even do virtual gigs. Things that used to be the preserve of signed acts are now, thanks to the internet, real possibilities for independent artists. And as CDs disappear and record companies go bust, the idea of an 'online career' is not just an option for musicians - it may come to be the only option.

Despite the power of the internet, using it effectively is not as straightforward as bands like to think: it's not cost-free, and it involves a lot of work. But there are a lot of tools - many of them free - to help you, and in this blog post I thought I'd share some of the best ones I've found. You should find them extremely useful.

• Getresponse - allows you to capture data and send e-newsletters to fans (automated if you like).
• Stubmatic - allows you to sell tickets for your gigs and events, using Paypal.
• Ping - a tool that allows you to update multiple social media profiles at once, either online or just by sending an SMS to a number. 
• Tweetdeck - another tool that allows you to simplify how you update a bunch of social networks in one go. 
• Tweet for a Track - really simple way of distributing music in exchange for an email address and a tweet. 
• Feedburner - a tool which lets people subscribe to your blog via email and in a host of readers. Doubles up as a simple way to capture email addresses and send newsletters.
• Google Analytics - no band website is complete without Google Analytics installed on it. It gives you vital insights into how people are finding your music online.
• Screen-resolution.com - lets you check how your website looks in a wide range of screen resolutions. This sounds boring, but it's actually incredibly useful and important.

Hope these help you in your quest for rock and roll stardom.

More Chris Singleton content

• Click here to get Chris Singleton's blog delivered straight to your inbox.
• Download Chris Singleton's acclaimed 'Twisted City' album here.