researching use of the internet to promote music

Although it is becoming more and more common for artists to use the Internet to distribute their work and make it popular enough to be signed this was not always the case. As web 2.0 sites become a more and more popular way to communicate and socialise they are the perfect place for artists to distribute there music encouraging listeners to show their friends. Not only this but it means the music is accessible from anywhere that has internet which is everywhere in the 21st century.

One of the first artists to use this technique was Lily Allen. Near the end of 2005 after creating several demo songs Lily created a Myspace profile, which was still a fairly new web 2.0 site,  where she made her recordings public.  A contract was signed shortly after with the label Regal Recordings, as the views on MySpace rose to tens of thousands.

Kate Nash was is another Artist who used the internet to publicise her music. Nash started her career in 2005. After several gigs, she uploaded her music to MySpace. She found a manager for herself before seeking producers for her music.

Radio Head are a band that have also used the Internet to promote their music. Their 7th album 'in rainbows' was released on their website where fans could pay whatever price they wanted, including nothing at all, as a voluntary contribution. 2 million downloads were reportedly sold by the day of release, but the band's management did not release official sales figures, claiming that the Internet-only distribution was intended to boost later retail sales. In May 2009, the band began new recording sessions with producer Nigel Godrich. A few months later, in August Radiohead released two singles from these sessions on their website. First, "Harry Patch (In Memory Of)", was recorded in tribute to the recently deceased Harry Patch, the last surviving British soldier to have fought in World War I. The song was sold for £1, with proceeds donated to the British Legion.