Have you ever wanted to license music quickly for a marketing project or promotional effort? Have you ever stolen the song elsewhere because of the time and process? Audiosocket makes it easy to license music the right way to use in almost any marketing avenue. Plus, did you kno

w you would share in the revenue created from the plays of the songs you decided to license? I thought that might get your attention.

Listen up! Audiosocket is not easy to get into if you are an artist that makes music. They screen everything and only have about 19,000 songs so far. However, if you are lucky enough to get content in the system, then with the right promotion your music can easily be licensed by businesses, film producers, record labels, or any other business looking to make a commercial of some sort. What is in it for them you ask? They make a small revenue off the song as you do each time it is played! An investment is measured by how long and how much you get back. Imagine spending money on licensing a song, then over time making back your money through your marketing of the song and actually making more money off licensing it than you spent on it originally!

This is an amazing idea that could only be done legally if all the publishing houses were on board. Oh wait; Audiosocket took care of that according to an article by Anthony Bruno for Billboard where the company got BMI and ASCAP on board earlier in 2011. This idea is genius! Imagine all of those You Tube vids that use bootlegged content from your favorite artists, now using licensed material and promoting new artist’s music because it helps them make money instead of taking money from the artists. Could it be that music may have found a way to combat illegal downloads by helping people make money? My dreams have been answered…or have they? Only time will tell.

Spotify comes to the U.S. It is like iTunes, meets Pandora, meets the Copyright Office, meets Harry Fox’s sample clearing agency. The revenue streams are vast with premium accounts that allow you to save playlists offline, bring up tunes on your mobile devices and home computer, as well as share via Facebook, Twitter, and instant messaging services. In addition, there is a copyright registration service for recording artists that charges $85 per submission that is user friendly, simple, and provides customer service for any concerns dealing with the copyright process. Subsequently, Harry Fox Agency has inked a deal with Spotify that will allow mechanical rights to be cleared as a new submission is distributed over the net.

Spotify serves quite a few purposes that can streamline promotional efforts on the web for artists. For instance, if I decided to release a new album, then I could upload the release on Spotify, get it copyrighted, any samples cleared, and start promoting the album via sharing it to Facebook, Twitter, vids via You Tube, and use the forums as an interactive review board for the tracks. Keep in mind Spotify pays only $0.0043 per play, so, other types of marketing will be necessary. The interesting thing on Spotify is the ability to market “leaked tracks” or “firestarter tracks” that lend themselves to build a following. Thus, Spotify can be used to get gigs, build tours, land interviews, and possible publishing/distribution deals to solidify more lucrative revenue streams via downloads, album sales, merchandise sold at venues, licensing opportunities, and more.

Some hail Spotify as the second coming, but I see it as just another tool or arrow in your online marketing quiver. It is very powerful as a sharing tool, but remember the times are circling back to the times of touring acts and bands. If you can find a way to be a touring act that never has to leave your home, then fine. But if you could do that then your garage would be large enough to sell enough tickets to make serious money. Until then, get on the road, get gigs, be willing to travel, and make money.