Why not have bands/artists (but only the ones who WISH to participate in this idea) auction off a banner-ad at the top of their band/artist page to a monthly sponsor.

Dmusic gets half, the artist/band gets the other half of the highest bidding sponsor for that artist/band per month.

The band/artist AND Dmusic both would benefit from trying to promote themselves to potential highest bidding sponsors/patrons.

Only the highest bidding sponsor would get the banner ad/sponsorship each month. BETTER, (or better self-marketing) bands would more likely naturally get the bigger sponsorships.

Dmusic itself would benefit by helping to find/obtain the biggest sponsors for the BEST bands/artists.

=========

Just yet another sketchy "idea" to help raise some needed $$$ for all concerned.

--Shmoo

not a bad idea...

actually a good idea this time!
mad props!

Intresting. I like that idea *actually wonders if I'm good enough for higher sponsors* Hmmm...

OK.

Each artist goes out and gets a sponsor(s) to advertise on Dmusic on his/her own page and we split it 50/50. We will handle the code and banner placement, and build tools to place ad and collect and divide money.

and

If the sponsor wants to buy a sitewide Dmusic ad, we will give the artist an agency commision of , say 15% ? ( I think that's what an ad agency charges) Is that fair?

A sitewide banner ad could cost thousands of dollars a month, depending on size and frequency.

I think the offer is more than fair! I wouldn’t even know where to start though and who would be crazy enough to sponsor my crap anyway?

same here, you got any links/connections/etc. that could start us off?

workin on it...

The auction part is the hard part. How would that work?

do it Im broke

Hmm, for the auction part, could we somehow simply use e-bay or one of the other online auction sites if it is too hard to set up an internal auction process?

Should the artists' page sponsorships be a monthly thing, per quarter, or bi-annual?

There are a lot of things to consider with something like this. My advice is to keep things simple at first, then, if it seems to work, expand on options and variations of the basic idea from there.

I would suggest that a sponsorship cost a minimum of perhaps $50 per month and that each artist-page only be allowed one sponsor/banner ad. If two or more customers wish to sponsor the same band/artist, that's where the auction part would come in.

=======

I really think something like this can work to help make $$$ for Dmusic and the artists too, but the devil is in the details (as always.)

We'd need a "splash-page" (and print-out) for potential sponsors to see describing the program/promotion.

I'd like to see that the artist get the %50 of the money for the artist's-page sponsorship on thier page regardless of whomever "sold" the sponsorship.

...details, details

Keep mulling it over folks!

OK.

1. EBAY
2. $50.00 minmum bid.
3. How about a buy it now price? $999 per month?
4. 50/50 split with artists after ebay fees.
5. "DM Artist auctions on ebay - Advertise your website or business on DMUSIC artist pages + I am beginning to like this.
6. DM will commit some money to EBAY FIRST PAGE ADVERTISING and GOOGLE ADWORDS to get traffic for the artist and Dmusic.

well??

Sounds Good,great idea..
look what that kid did with the million dollar page,
he dont have any music

Virtually anyone could be a sponsor of a Dmusic artist, however, the primary "target customer" for being a sponsor would be a local business/clubs/churches/organizations in particular artists' hometown area.

Again, I think we should limit it as one sponsor per artist-page per (month?) if we do an auction thingy via ebay with it.

Sponsor should recieve the primary non site-wide banner ad at the top of the artist-page linking to their webpage along with a notice that reads: "this Dmusic artist is proudly sponsored by..."

Each artist who chooses to participate (and wishes to help find a sponsor) needs the ebay auction link and some sort of material to promote themselves to potential sponsors in their community/area (This can be as simple as a downloadable flier explaining the program/promotion details and links to the ebay auction page, Dmusic's TOC/FAQ on the sponsorship, etc.)

============
Folks, we are just brain-storming this thing at the moment. Please join in with suggestions!

The way I envision it at the moment, although I am sure Dmusic will try to do as much as it can to find sponsors, the ARTIST (or a fan) will most likely have to take it upon themselves and on their own to promote their own band in their community (or via the Internet) to find potential sponsors for themselves.

The larger the number of interested potential sponsors that an artist can get to bid on their sponsorship, the more $$$ that can be made.

(So, it will take a lot of work on the part of the artist too.)

But hey, that's how the music biz has always worked anyways. The harder an artist works to promote themselves, the more sucsess there is to be had in terms of financial reward.

Lotsa things to consider:

1) To make it workable, how long should a sponsorship period be? Per month? Quarterly?

2) I kinda like the idea of having only ONE sponsor per artist page per period. (Although more than one is concievable.) Limiting it to just one makes the more "popular" (to the sponsor) artists' page more valuable and drives up the bid. If a potential sponsor is out-bid on their first-choice artist, they can always try for a different artist.

3) Dmusic should strive to promote the "Artist Sponsorship" program in general on a national/world-wide level to bigger companies/corporations ...and leave it to the artists to "work it from their own end" on a local level. --But EVERY potential sponsor bids in the same place (ebay?)

I'm still just brainstorming it folks, but I feel like this sorta thing will only really be able to "take-off" if BOTH Dmusic AND the artists themselves TOGETHER really get in there and do their part to work this idea. I don't think it would be very sucsessful with either working it on their own.

This idea is gonna require COOPERATION and EFFORT on all sides.

(And it's gonna require YOU folks jumping in here with your ideas and thoughts on how to implement it!)

Should it be a matter of "public record" how much a sponsor paid for sponsorship of an artists' page per month??? (Good idea or not? Should it be left up the sponsor to decide if that amount is disclosed openly on the banner ad itself?)

It is public record on ebay for 90 days, anyway, unless you make it a private auction.

leflaw, whatever you decide, don't require anything more of the artists beyond promoting themselves and this program/promotion to potential local (or whomever they wish to approach) sponsors. (Don't ask/require the artist to "chip in" on any of the Dmusic costs or anything.)

...and, MAKE SURE IT IS ONLY AN OPTION, not a requirement, for Dmusic artists to participate.

Besides, only the willing & HARD-WORKING (marketing/promotion-wise) artists are likely to actually obtain any sponsors anyways. MANY Dmusic artists are not "in it" for the money.

Furthermore, perhaps there should be an A&R process of some sort for an artist to be included in this program/promotion? (Artist must somehow prove a willingness that they will put forth the effort on their part ...and/or be "shoppable" to potential sponsors in order to be included???)

Otherwise, Dmusic could end up with a huge e-bay bill and very few sponsorships sold.

=======

(Folks, I am trying to look at this from BOTH sides of the coin. I want it to be egalitarian AND profitable.)

Hey, if (just IF) this Dmusic Artist Sponsorship thing were to REALLY (I mean REALLY) "take-off"

...would it be a good idea to be connected with/using ebay or whatever other such auction site's services instead of doing it all "on our own" DIY and in-house???

(Just more food for thought.)

Maybe we should just "start out" using the existing auction services, then, if things really get rolling, bring it all home.

I'm In.......

Posted in my journal ... bout all I can do at the present ... took me all this time to save up enough to subscribe ...

I worked for an agency...and yes, they charge 15%

My thoughts:
1. I like it...I'd do it

2. When trying to get sponsorship, the main questions I get asked is how much and what does the sponsor get in return?

I think the sponsorship rate should be set as low as possible - unless you have some glowing traffic figures to fight your corner! Start off low-cost...it can always be increased. But to start too high, then have to reduce, would give the impression of failing audiences/site popularity. Remember some site memberships on the web cost less than $50 per annum. With our anti-RIAA stance, you may find many companies/people reluctant to do business with us. We need incentives..so we need to make it low cost, simple to do and straightforward to operate.

Traffic figures - Does DM have such a thing? Do we have a demographic breakdown? Do we know where most members come from, their age, earning capacity, profile etc? Advertisers/sponsors tend to ask these questions. Also if trying to encourage "local" sponsors I think you will get the argument that there will be a lot of "wastage" on an international site. I.e. how many companies local to me (UK) would get any benefit from being high profile on a site based in the USA with primarily USA members?

3. Don't forget the general image of the artist and their page. Any trouble or unpleasantness on their pages will alienate sponsors...so we need to be sure that anyone taking part is responsible in their outlook towards business and commerce in general...and good at presenting themselves publicly - otherwise they will kill the idea for themselves and the site.

4. Anyone taking part would need a certain amount of guaranteed promotion via the DM promotional areas around the site to increase traffic to their pages - nobody would sponsor a "dead" page.

5. Monthly would seem too short to bother with...most people don't what something that they have to constantly do administration for. 3 months minimum would be better. 6 months or a year preferable and more workable for all concerned.

6. Has DM ever considered product endorsements on site? Let's face it...we all use mobile phones, guitars, mixing equipment, computers etc etc. Why not have a more global advertisement/sponsorship agreement here that DM that the site administrators could control? This would combine advertising slots around DM with promotional opportunities for artists. All DM would need is a pic of the various artists with the product concerned and a line which says "X recommends X product". We then run these "promo slots/endorsements" in conjunction with the advertisers' own site advertisments. Helps the artists and adds credibility to the product. Standard fixed rate for a whole advertisement/product endorsement package per quarter, 6 months or a year. Possible?

And lastly my emphasis, as far as this website is concerned, is for added promotion and exposure to my target audiences...profitability is not a major consideration (just a bonus). Making money with our music is something we should concentrate on away from the site. Websites are largely for promotional purposes and may disappoint if anyone thinks they will get rich from any agreements we have on site - this should be made clear to anyone who participates. The site has its own overheads and will need to make money for itself.

Holy crap! leflaw, you should consider putting Rodrica in charge of all this!!!

"Making money with our music is something we should concentrate on away from the site."

--well, I think there is room to figure out how to bring money to Dmusic and the Artists ON-SITE at the same time too. (Thus my suggestion for something like this in the first place.)

Long story short. Dmusic needs revenue to operate. Many of the artists here deserve/want a little scratch too.

THIS idea is still JUST an idea of course, but I think it is a less evil and more WORKABLE idea than doing dumb things like trying to sell downloads, involving DRM, monopolizing the entire radio spectrum, eMTv, and media pipelines (as do the RIAA labels) ...and other snake-oil carpet-bagger tricks.

Believe me folks, I have been racking my brains for YEARS trying to figure out a profitable NON-EVIL way for independent music to be able to turn a buck via the Internet.

A "sponsorship" model along these lines (although not perfect) is the best thing I have been able to come up with so far that does not violate any laws, is somewhat fair to all parties concerned, is "workable/do-able" (since it doesn't require the fans to pay for .mp3 sample downloads NOR cost the artist anything beyond use of the tunes and a little promotional effort that they should be doing anyways.)

========

MORE INPUT FOLKS!

You ROCK Rodrica, ...and I mean that BEYOND your music artistry!!!

(I like how quick and shrewd at the music BIZ you are!)



==================

MORE input folks! Let's hash this out and give SHAPE/FORM to the overall idea/details as a community as much as possible BEFORE leflaw "decides" on anything final. (He has already indicated that he LIKES the idea and I happen to KNOW he is fishing for funding ideas to benefit Dmusic itself.)

I'm in and obviously would only look at this as a bonus - but outside interest is the bonus I'm concidering Let the one with the qualifications represent the rest of us artist I vote Rodrica.

OK, it all sounds so good, but do these sponsors get to hear our material before they decide to sponsor us or not? If so what if they don't like what they hear? What happens if an Artist/Band can't get a sponsor? DM is made up of Subscribers and Non-subscribers, How will that be effected?
The sponsors are gonna be paying for us to be on here and expecting some cash to flow their way. And if that doesn't happen, that Artist/band is going to lose the sponsorship. Then where does that leave the Artist/Band? Some Artists/Bands aren't on the site as often as others are. So where does that leave them as far as sponsorships?

"OK, it all sounds so good, but do these sponsors get to hear our material before they decide to sponsor us or not?"

...I would imagine that they would/should. (Isn't our "material" available already here at Dmusic?)

"If so what if they don't like what they hear?"

...the "sponsor" can pick another Dmusic artist, and if that don't work, the sponsor can just jump in a lake.

================

"DM is made up of Subscribers and Non-subscribers, How will that be effected?"

I don't see how that should be effected at all.

"The sponsors are gonna be paying for us to be on here and expecting some cash to flow their way."

Oh Jimminy Crickets... does a newspaper GUARANTEE the supermarket/car-dealership increased traffic/sales just because they advertised???

========

(Ray, I'm not picking on ya. I am actually very glad you have voiced these kinda concerns. Any of us artists need to REALLY THINK about these same sorta things.)



"What happens if an Artist/Band can't get a sponsor?"

Then, that band/artist failed to attract a sponsor and gets %50 of nothing/nada.

Like I say, this thing is NOT a "free-lunch" for anybody.

EVERYBODY concerned (Dmusic and artist both) would have to WORK it from their own end.

(There ARE NO "free-lunches")

...sorry folks, but it is the truth.

Im gonna let the guys at my local music store know about this when I wander down there tomorrow. I doubt they'll pay $50/month for a big ad that links to their little web page, but they might contact ya'll for a little link somewhere.
oh and sorry to spam ya'll but Ive been loyal to this store (and they to me) since 1982
Instramental Music Store S. James St (Downtown) Ludington MI 49431

The Main thing to remember is IMAGE. The better Music/Image you have, they more likely you'll get a good sponsorship. If anyone starts lookin bad on the site, that sponsor is gonna put pressure on the artist to behave. That also benifits the site (less assholes)

Most of us have contacts at a local level. Probably one of the things a local sponsor would want to know is how many local hits the site/artist page would bring in.

Most sponsors would probably be retailers of music equipment, possibly music magizines, clubs/venues, other artists, Music software, websites, indie labels, CD Duplication sites, etc. How would the $$ get to the artist. Do the sponsors cut a check to DM, and DM cuts a check to us? Who would be in charge of putting up the banner ads?

Plus you might wanna try and keep an extra eye out for spammers tryin to look good for their sponsor. There will be lots of people on the forums going "Listen to my music and use Sony Acid Pro for music editing!"

Last thing is, I think if an artist can get more then one sponsor, then they should be able to.

yall might have said this but im gonna say it anyway.... you know where the ad at the top of the page?? you should let people pay to get them a banner put right there for the whole site to see. and for the people that subscribe and cant see it make it some kind of way for them to see the banner somewhere. that way the persong who paid for the spot the can have site wide promotion instead of spamming cause its hard to get noticed on this site as a new comer. and if more than one peron pays for it the site toggles through the banners per page you go to on dmusic. you can charge a flat rate for the banner for a month.

OK, How much for the banner for a month????

Shmoo...going back to Ray's comments. He does have a point in two areas...

1. Firstly, whilst a newspaper doesn't guarantee increased sales for its advertisers, it DOES guarantee that it will reach a specified demographic audience over a certain number of issues/advertisements. In fact the newspapers, TV and radio stations all pay good money to produce independent documentation to verify their figures - as do certain websites. Without them they have nothing on which to base their sales pitch. And for sure...if those guaranteed audiences do not eventually lead to increased sales within a direct marketing campaign, then that newspaper/station/website or whatever will get dropped immediately and labelled non cost-effective. (I specify it as a DIRECT MARKETING campaign because that's closest to what we're talking about - i.e. generating income as a direct result of an advertisement. And as I mentioned in my last post...I don't see many sponsors who would fit into that category - this is an international website, so local sponsors will prove difficult to find. Sponsors NOT wishing to do direct marketing (i.e. profile raising/corporate style campaigns - like cell phones, guitar manufacturers etc) are more likely to go for a global site campaign (bigger stuff!), not slots on an individual's page. These two types of advertising operate entirely differently and the objectives are completely different too; one requires direct response, the other merely wants to spread their name around

2. Ray's point about subscribers/non-subscribers is also valid. We currently have "issues" regarding the level of promo that should be given to any particular artist and specifically to subscibers as opposed to non-subscribers. As DM may have to "help" artists with sponsorship deals in terms of extra promo around the site...this may cause issues with regard to whether a non-subscriber would get as much assistance as a subscriber.

To put Ray's mind at rest here regarding what happens if you can't get a sponsor...any sponsorships deals currently being discussed are OPTIONAL. So nobody should suffer if they are not able/willing to participate. It would just be "business as usual" for everyone else.

Having thought about things further...I'm still more inclined to go with a total site product endorsement partnership deal. The reason being that DM/admins can control things more easily. My reservation at present about something that could amount to 100's of individual sponsorship deals is the administration, level of difficulties and lack of coordination - such things, if not controlled by a central source, can lead to a lot of confusion, disgruntled artists/sponsors and a load of inconsistencies And knowing how difficult some sponsors can be...I'd suggest that any deals are tied up tighter than a duck's Otherwise at best they become dissatisfied, and at worst they start taking legal action...and I'm sure Leflaw already has enough legal cases on his hands!

for the monthly banner i think $10 a month wont kill anyone pockets and it will bring dmusic money also.

Cool idea. However, I think the artist should be able to nix the deal if they do not agree with the sponsoring company's policies. For instance, a Sony banner would not appear on my site!

RIGHT!

"Im gonna let the guys at my local music store know about this when I wander down there tomorrow." ima do the same next chance i get!

got a question... about the prices. what if the sponser doesnt wanna pay that high but mabye lower, could the sponser still be considered? like wayne said, im also loyal to my store! and id really like to help them out and DM so mabye... i dunno could you please note me cause i dont check news often.

!levi

Rodrica said:

"My reservation at present about something that could amount to 100's of individual sponsorship deals is the administration, level of difficulties and lack of coordination - such things, if not controlled by a central source, can lead to a lot of confusion, disgruntled artists/sponsors and a load of inconsistencies..."

...and she shares MY concerns/worries over all this.

Breaking it up into individual sponsorships per artist & artist's page is probably gonna be a NIGHTMARE for the Dmusic techs and account managers who have to handle it all.

I am only offering a suggestion (which very well may proove unworkable for Rodrica's reasons/concerns.)

But, if we COULD figure out a simple enough way to make this work, I really think it could benefit Dmusic itself, the Dmusic artists, (and even the sponsors!)

I know, it is a VERY complex proposal when you get into the nitty-gritty details.

...but I am only suggesting something that I think would be good for us all.

(And, as always, it is up to leflaw/Dmusic Networks to decide "yes" or "no".)

I just want us all to keep brainstorming the idea and continue giving the pros and cons, especially since leflaw DID indicate he is interested.

-------

Heck, if we could pull it off, I honestly think it would be a HUGE boon to the TRUE professional independent music community/industry/marketplace. (That, and the dedication I have to my own personal indie band's interests are my PRIME motivations here.)

...but yeah, even simplified as much as possible, I can see it's STILL gonna be a hell of a lot of work.

would individuals be responsible for setting up their own auctions or would dmusic in essence "sell" the artists through ebay? I mean you could set up a Dmusic shop on ebay and have artists apply to be sold in the shop.

plus i reckon if this gets done the media would definatley be interested in running articles on it, its gotta b the first time anythin like this has ever been done before? thats really cool!

we are getting this together.

whatever happened to this?