Congratulations! Your debut CD is now recorded, replicated, packaged, and ready for market. It’s an amazing feeling to see the fruit of your labor in front of you, nicely packaged as a CD that’s ready to be sold alongside the big wigs in the industry. One small problem: you don’t have the backing and capital that the big wigs do to promote your CD… and you just know your CD can be a huge success in the market.

Promoting a CD can seem like a daunting task at first, especially if you haven’t done anything like this before. Here are a few tips and ideas on how you can get started promoting, and selling your music CD.

1. First, you should plan a launch party. Tell all your friends and fans when the CD is going to launch, and generate some buzz. Let local papers and shops know as well, and have them help you spread the word.

2. Network - tell everyone you know about your new CD. Ransack that mental rolodex of yours, and hit everyone you know, and tell them to do the same. Believe it or not, this is probably your best resource!

3. Have a website before your CD launches, and use it to promote your CD. Set up a page on myspace and other similar sites that allow navigators to sample your new tracks.

4. Look into setting up an email list for your fans. Before the CD launches, send out an email letting everyone know. It’s cheap, it’s easy and it’s a fast way to get the word out about this and other upcoming events.

5. Write a press release and put it on your website. You can find lots of examples and instructions of how to do this online.

6. Contact the music reporter(s) at your local newspaper(s). Don’t leave out the smaller papers - sometimes they are the heart and soul of the local music scene.

6. Offer a free copy of your CD to local radio stations. Remember the school stations - they frequently tend to favor local artists. If they play it, it could pay off quite well for you.

7. Approach internet radio stations, and offer them the rights to play your CD for free. Every time they play a track, you receive free advertising.

8. Call DJ’s and DJ companies and offer a free copy. If they play your CD, that’s more free advertising.

9. Get a barcode for your CD. This can help encourage retailers to sell your CD.

10. Get your CD sold at online distributers, such as cdbaby.com or amazon.com

11. Sell merchandise with your name or the band’s name on it. This is not only a little extra revenue - it’s great advertising.

12. Find out if there is a music show on your local TV stations, and see if you can be featured.

13. Cross-promotional deals - Talk to another similar band, and work out a cross-promotional deal. ie. They promote your CD at their shows, and you promote their CD at your show. Or even better…

14. Work out cross-promotional deal with several bands. Each band contributes a track or two to a sampler CD. Then each band gives away the sampler CD as a “bonus” with every CD they sell of their own.

15. Naturally, you should promote your CD at every show you play

There are lots of things you can do to realize your dream faster. These are some simple ideas on how you can begin to promote your CD, and get the word out to your future fans. Good luck!

About The Author
Rashi Singh is with Duplium Corporation, a CD Duplication company based in Dallas and Toronto. Duplium provides top quality CD and DVD Replication, customized printing and packaging, and full-scale fulfillment solutions. Visit http://www.duplium.com for more information or to receive a quote.

The creation of legal music downloads came about because of the complaints of many artists and musicians. They pleaded with the government that they owned their music, and it therefore should not be available for free downloading through shareware like Napster. The government decided that shareware sites are indeed illegal, and allowed companies to provide music downloads for a small fee, as long as it was not free or through shareware.

As a result, music downloading websites began popping up online, with ITunes being the most popular. Napster also began providing legal music downloads to consumers for a monthly subscription fee. ITunes became increasingly popular mainly because they provided legal music downloads for a very nominal fee of only ninety-nine cents per song, and it was also more convenient than other sources. You don’t have to pay a costly monthly subscription if you just want to one or two songs. There are now more than a hundred of sites that offer music downloads ranging from small start up companies to established ones like Yahoo and ITunes.

There are even a handful of international sites that offer legal music downloads. Russia has the most popular and widespread international sites. However, they are monitored very closely because they offer songs for as little as five cents each. Music companies and artists are not very fond of music being sold for that little. It has been difficult to crack down on them because other countries do not fully recognize intellectual property laws.

You can find legal music downloads in several ways. It is advisable that you go through reputable and well known sites such as Itunes or Yahoo. You can also take a risk and download your music through one of the international sites that currently offer legal music downloads. However, you have to run the chance of a government crackdown or glitches in the site that can prevent you from fully downloading the music you paid for.
About The Author
Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning Legal Music Downloads. Get more information by visiting http://www.mymusicreport.com/music–more/music/the-birth-of-legal-music-downloads.html.

You have probably been hearing about satellite radio for a while and of course, lately there has been plenty of news about Howard Stwern setting up shop on Sirius and bringing his fan base along with him. So now you have decided that it’s time to get on the bandwagon with this new technology and experience satelite radio for yourself.

If you live in the US you only have two choices for programming, XM and Sirius. In this article, we will discuss Sirius and the things you will need to do to sign up with them and receive their programming signal.

First of all, before you get started, make sure that Sirius is the provider that you really want. This is because once you decide on the provider or service, that will dictate which receiving equipment that you will need to purchase, and most importantly, once you have that equipment you will not be able to use it to change your subscription and receive the other provider’s signal. So make your choice wisely here to avoid costly changes later on.

Now that you have definitely decided on Sirius as your satellite radio provider, here are the two simple steps that you need to do to start getting satellite radio:

1. Sign up for a monthly subscription with Sirius. It will cost about $12.95 a month if you pay on a monthly basis, but you can save money by buying the subsciption annually or even longer. So choose your plan and sign up.

2. Buy your receiving equipment. You will need a receiver and an antenna to start getting the signal. Your regular car radio will not be able to receive satellite radio unles it is specifically enabled for that purpose, so check your manuafcturers material to see about that first.

Before buying though, think about where you plan to listen tio your programming. Will you only be listening in your car? Then you probably only need a car receiver and antenna to get going. Just be sure that your receiving equipment matches the manufacturer of your car’s radio. However, if you plan on listening at home too, you may need to get a plug-and-play type of unit that enables you to pull the receiver from your car when you get home and plug it into a home based unit to start receiving the signal through your home audio system. And if you need a portable unit for those times when you are neither at home or in the car, those are available as well. Prices for these units can vary considerably, but by shopping online you can usually get a very good deal on the equipment and have it installed locally if needed.

Once you have the equipment and the subscription, you are ready to start enjoying satellite radio whenever you want. Remember, it’s always on and always available wherever you go.

About the Author
Find out more about sirius satellite radio and satellite radio services by visiting our Satellite Radio Review website.

Satellite radio is catching on like wildfire these days and as more consumers actually gain experience with it, they come to appreciate it’s benefits and get on board with this new technology. There are two main satellite radio service providers and they are Sirius and XM, but for this article let’s just focus on what you need to know about XM satellite radio.

First of all, satellite radio is a new way of broadcasting radio signals that eliminates most of the problems and shortcomings of standard radio broadcasts. For instance, haven’t you found it annoying that after you travel about 30 - 50 miles across country, you have to change the radio station because the one you are listening to fades out and becomes unlistenable? Well, satellite radio solves that problem as the radio signal is recorded digitally and transmitted to satellites that orbit the earth high in the atmosphere. Since there are no obstacles or obstructions between them and the listeners here on the ground, you can literally travel from coast to coast and keep listening to the same radio station as you do.

XM radio offers over 100 channels of radio programming too that runs the gamut from every kind of music you can imagine, to talk radio, sports programming, and much more. You can always find something good to listen to on XM radio, and they keep adding even more popular programming content as they go on. For instance, XM has recently added a channel called “Oprah & Friends” that will feature Oprah herself and many of the popular personalities from her show. They have also brought Bob Dylan on board to host a weekly show for music fans across the country. And more of this kind of original programming can be expected to arrive on XM in the near future.

One of the big advantages of XM satellite radio though is the ability to listen to it generally free of commercial interruptions. Because it is a subscription based service, there is no need to sell on-air advertising, and that simply means that listeners get more of what they really want, the programming that they signed up for. The service is very inexpensive at only $9.95 a month, so it’s affordable by almost everyone.

You will have to purchase the receiving equipment necessary to decode the radio signal, in order to listen to it, but there is a wide array of electronics products that cater to XM radio. You can find units specifically made for your car, your home stereo, and even those that can be switched back and forth whenever you want. In fact, XM is also leading the industry by providing portable units from Samsung and Pioneer that can play XM radio wherever you are and also play MP3s, WMA files, and even recorded XM content too.

So why not consider joining the almost 6 million subscribers that are currently already on board and enjoy the breakthrough radio broadcasting technology from XM satellite radio?

About the Author
Find out more about xm satelite radio and xm radios by visiting our Satellite Radio Review website.

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On October 31, 2005, Mark Russinovich posted to his blog a detailed description and technical analysis of the characteristics of the software contained on Sony music CDs. Called Sony, Rootkits and Digital Rights Management Gone Too Far, the article asserts vocally that the software is illegitimate and that digital rights management had “gone too far”. He stated that there were shortcomings in the software design that manifest themselves as security holes that can be exploited by malicious software such as worms or viruses. Several comments to the entry recommended a lawsuit against Sony.

Press reports

In a November 7, 2005 article, vnunet.com summarised Russinovich’s finding in a less technically detailed way, and urged consumers to avoid buying Sony music CDs for the time being. The following day, The Boston Globe (boston.com) classified the software as spyware and confirmed that it communicates personal information from consumers’ computers to Sony. The methods used by the software to avoid detection were likened to those used by data thieves.

After the first virus which made use of Sony’s stealth technology to make their malicious files invisible to both the user and anti-virus programs surfaced on November 10, 2005, Yahoo! News announced on November 11, 2005 that Sony has suspended further distribution of the controversial technology.

Microsoft identifies software as spyware

According to BBC News on November 14, 2005, Microsoft has decided to classify Sony’s software as “spyware” and provide tools for its removal. In both this and the previous Yahoo! News announcement, Mark Russinovich is quoted as saying, “This is a step they should have taken immediately.”

Sony’s rootkit removal program

Sony released a software utility to remove the rootkit component of Extended Copy Protection from affected Microsoft Windows computers, but this removal utility was soon revealed as only exacerbating the privacy and security concerns. In fact, the Sony program merely unmasked the hidden files installed by the rootkit, but did not actually remove the rootkit. In addition, this program was reported to install additional software that cannot be uninstalled. In order to download the uninstaller, it is necessary to provide an e-mail address, and to install an ActiveX control containing backdoor methods (marked as “safe for scripting”, and thus prone to exploits).

On November 18, 2005, Sony BMG provided a “new and improved” removal tool to remove the rootkit component of Extended Copy Protection from affected Microsoft Windows computers.

Opponents of Sony’s actions, especially Slashdot and Digg users, later accused Sony of violating the privacy of its customers to create a backdoor onto their machine using code that even violates an Open Source license. They claimed that this DRM program, designed to give Sony control over the customer’s machine in the name of copyright protection, is itself infringing copyright by including code from the LAME MP3 library. It appears that, since LAME is under the LGPL, this situation could be rectified by SONY offering a copy of the LAME source code, as well as adding a notice that it was using code from the library (though this would not be a defense against past damages); additionally it appears that the LAME code was added only to permit detection of attempts to rip the CD using LAME (not to actually implement LAME or call functions from it).

Product recall

On November 15, 2005, vnunet.com announced that Sony is backing out its copy-protection software, recalling unsold CDs from all stores, and offering consumers to exchange their CDs with versions lacking the software. The Electronic Frontier Foundation compiled a partial list of CDs with XCP. Sony is quoted as maintaining that “there were no security risks associated with the anti-piracy technology”, despite numerous virus and malware reports. On November 16, 2005, US-CERT, part of the United States Department of Homeland Security, issued an advisory on XCP DRM. They said that XCP uses rootkit technology to hide certain files from the computer user, and that this technique is a security threat to computer users. They also said one of the uninstallation options provided by Sony introduces further vulnerabilities to a system. US-CERT advised, “Do not install software from sources that you do not expect to contain software, such as an audio CD.”

Sony announced that it has instructed retailers to remove any unsold music discs containing the software from their shelves. [15] It is estimated by internet expert Dan Kaminsky that XCP is in use on more than 500,000 networks.

CDs with XCP technology can be identified by the letters “XCP” printed on the back cover of the jewel case for the CD.

On November 18, 2005, Reuters reported that music publisher Sony BMG would swap affected unsecure CDs for new unprotected disks as well as unprotected MP3 files.

Information about the swap can be found at the Sony BMG swap program website. As a part of the swap program, consumers can mail their XCP-protected CDs to Sony BMG and would be sent an unprotected disc via return mail.

On November 29, 2005 the New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer found through his investigators that despite the recall of November 15 Sony CDs with XCP were still for sale in New York City music retail outlets. Spitzer said “It is unacceptable that more than three weeks after this serious vulnerability was revealed, these same CDs are still on shelves, during the busiest shopping days of the year,” “I strongly urge all retailers to heed the warnings issued about these products, pull them from distribution immediately, and ship them back to Sony.” On November 30, 2005 Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly issued a statement saying that Sony CDs with XCP were still availible in Boston despite the Sony recall of November 15. Attorney General Reilly advised consumers not to purchase the Sony CDs with XCP and said that he was conducting an investigation of Sony BMG.

Legal situation

Class action suits have been filed against Sony in New York and California. On November 21, 2005 The Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott sued Sony BMG. Texas is the first state in the nation to bring legal action against SONY for illegal “spyware.” The suit is also the first filed under the state’s spyware law of 2005. It alleges the company surreptitiously installed the spyware on millions of compact music discs (CDs) that consumers inserted into their computers when they play the CDs, which can compromise the systems. Threats of legal action in Italy have also been reported. On November 21, EFF announced that they were also pursuing a lawsuit over both XCP and the SunnComm MediaMax DRM technology. On December 6, 2005 Sony-BMG said that 5.7 million of its CDs were shipped with SunnComm MediaMax that requires a new software patch to prevent a potential security breach in consumers computers. The security vulnerability was discovered by EFF and brought to the attention of Sony-BMG. The MediaMax Version 5 software was loaded on 27 Sony BMG titles. All these suits are regarding security threats and other damage to customer computers, not copyright issues in the code. The EFF lawsuit also involves issues concerning the Sony end user license agreement.

A Slashdot story noted that the rootkit includes code and comments (such as “copyright (c) Apple Computer, Inc. All Rights Reserved.”) illegally copied from the program VLC by Jon Lech Johansen and Sam Hocevar, the former best known for being prosecuted in connection with DeCSS (which circumvents the digital rights management mechanism used on movie DVDs).

Another exploit

According to ZDNet News: “The latest risk is from an uninstaller program distributed by SunnComm Technologies, a company that provides copy protection on other Sony BMG releases.” The uninstall program obeys commands sent to it allowing others “to take control of PCs where the uninstaller has been used.”

Larger issues

Many larger issues are raised by the intrusion of Sony’s software into user’s computer systems: