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I just came across a pretty interesting article that details how an
unknown singer named Ingrid Michaelson was able to use MySpace.com
to get her music featured on shows like Grey's Anatomy, TV
commercials, and more. This is a very informative piece of news, so
I thought that I would share it with you, but first
If You want to Learn how to use Myspace to get the most out of your
music career, be sure to pick up my new resource The MySpace Magic
Manuscript here: http://www.MySpaceMagicManuscriptv2.com/main (you
can even test it out if you want)
Ok, now onto the article and how she did it;
Indie artist Ingrid Michaelson is doing pretty well these days. Her
music has aired several times on the TV drama Grey's Anatomy, with
her song "Keep Breathing" featured in the final emotional moments
of the hit series' season finale. Her compositions also appeared on
Grey's Anatomy, vol. 3, Original Soundtrack (Hollywood Records)
an Old Navy commercial, and other film and TV projects. It
seems unbelievable that a short while ago she was just another one
of the millions of artists on MySpace vying for recognition,
plugging away in her native New York music scene and hoping for a
big break. Michaelson (www.myspace.com/ingridmichaelson) divulges
how it all happened for her, and what fellow MySpacers should be
doing to help build their own success.
Your music has been featured on Grey's Anatomy. How did that
happen?
I came across the artist profile of a [now] friend of mine named
William Fitzsimmons. He's had a pretty good MySpace following. From
the beginning, he's held steady. He put me in his "Top 8"
[friends], and he wrote a whole thing about me, like "Check this
girl out -- she's great." And a music supervisor found me through
him. That's how I got Grey's Anatomy and One Tree Hill. Now it's
snowballing. So I find that aligning yourself with great artists
helps, because that [music supervisor] would never have found me if
I wasn't on William's page.
What is the secret to artist success on MySpace?
I think, obviously, your music needs to be good and people have to
like it. That's the number one thing. There's no advice for that.
Write good music. It has to be something people want to listen to.
I can't really say, "This is how you do it," because there is no
[one] way. It's kind of luck, really, and just being in a place
where you can be seen and heard. A&R and music-licensing people are
trolling MySpace for artists; that's people's jobs, and they do
look and listen. So it's the luck of the draw if people come across
you. I would say, put up your best songs and make your profile look
really snappy. Try to have your stuff together. For me, it was a
combination of luck and that they liked my music.
Before your music appeared on Grey's Anatomy, what kind of response
or interest were you receiving through MySpace?
I was just getting a few friend requests. It wasn't anything crazy.
I was kind of doing the whole "If you like this person's music,
you'll like my music" [email]. One out of ten people would respond
and add me, and then everybody else would not really care. And now
it's getting to the point where you're invading their privacy, and
it's like, "Listen to my music! Listen to my music!"
How does an artist cut through that noise?
I don't know how it happened with me -- it just happened. Not to say
that I wasn't playing shows; I was always writing, and I was
recording my album. I was always working toward something. It
wasn't like I was just sitting around saying, "La la la, I'll put
my songs on MySpace." I was doing other things besides that. And
the fact that someone came across my profile is just random. But if
I hadn't had my profile there, it never would have happened.
There are, of course, no guarantees that artists on MySpace will be
discovered and amass great commercial success. But is there
something to be said for being in the game?
If you're not putting yourself out there (to say a phrase that
everybody says) and putting yourself in a place where you can be
seen -- not just playing a show or having a Web site, or entering a
contest, or doing open mic. [Then it won't happen.] All of those
things put you in a situation where other people are going to see
you. And hopefully, at some point the "right person" will be there
and see you.
So what's the best way for MySpace artists to build relationships
with other people who are using the service?
Get into [an informal] community of other artists that you admire ...
but nobody who's really huge, because they're not going to even do
their own MySpace anymore. Find people who are like-minded or who
you think are really great and [who] think you're really great, and
create communities -- like how I found William. You don't have to
sit around and wait for the music industry to find you. You can use
MySpace to find it yourself and create things for yourself.
What about artists who attest to having the most friends and the
most music plays?
I think the whole thing with the number of plays and friends you
have can be totally fictitious. Well, not fictitious, but you can
buy programs that add people, and you can buy programs that play
your songs over and over. I think people can manipulate the system
to make their numbers skyrocket, and I think the industry has
realized that to a certain degree.
A lot of label execs are describing MySpace as the ideal virtual
demo. What would you advise artists to have (or not to have) on
their profiles?
Well, obviously your five songs that showcase yourself the best.
Whatever your default picture is, [it should be] something that's
very memorable and eye-catching. If they see you on somebody else's
profile, they're going to want to see what you're all about and
know more. Really, that's what people see first. They don't see
your music; they see your picture first. Your profile doesn't have
to be done up or made up, but it should be very concise and very
clean -- not a lot of crazy stuff in the background, and flashing
lights and bells and whistles. You don't have to have all that, as
long as it's easy to read.
You mean you don't love all the flashing animated background
graphics?
Yeah, that's a turnoff.
Your own profile was pretty simply designed until recently.
What it really comes down to is the content of the music and the
quality of the picture. If it doesn't look like a quality
photograph, I'm leery about it. If the music hasn't loaded up, then
I might not even listen to it. For me, I have to see something
visual, so it looks like they're not just throwing their music up
there. If it looks like they really put time and effort into it,
I'm like, "Okay, this is something they're proud of and they want
people to listen to this." It's like when you put out a CD, you
want the CD packaging to be perfect, visually eye-catching or
stimulating, or interesting in some way. It's about getting people
to stay and listen to the music.
What do you think about artists who say it should be about the
music only?
In a musician's mind, it's all about the music because that's all
we think about. "Oh, my songs are so intense and the lyrics are
awesome." Meanwhile, that's not how most of the world thinks. You
have to hook people in other ways, especially in a place [like
MySpace] where there are thousands of other people doing the exact
same thing.
Isn't marrying MySpace with other career endeavors really the
old-fashioned way of making connections and planting seeds?
Yes, exactly. At first I thought, "I am going to make a CD and it's
going to be awesome and everyone's going to come knocking on my
door. And it'll be so obvious." I realized that's not the way of
the world. You need to take every opportunity you get and create
opportunities. Be proactive.
You've just released your album on your own imprint. Why did you
decide not to use the MySpace/Snocap download store in your
profile?
I opted not to do Snocap because I have a thing about too many
accessories in my life. I like to have one of this and one of that.
I'm already selling on iTunes, CD Baby, and Amazon.com. And I want
to know it's all coming from the same place. That's probably not a
good business thing because you probably want your stuff in as many
places as possible. But that's just the way my brain works, and I
was like, "I don't want Snocap!" But it seems like it's pretty user
friendly and a lot of artists have it. I get stuck in my ways. CD
Baby is awesome. They do all the work for you. They give you
statements and process the payments. If you're a top seller, they
list that. They're interactive with their buyers.
You've had your artist profile only since 2005. In just over two
years, your life has changed a lot.
I think that things are definitely going in a great direction, and
all because of MySpace!
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Thats the end of the interview, now learn how to make the most of
your MySpace page (or set one up if you don't already have one)
Go here: http://www.MySpaceMagicManuscriptv2.com/main
Much Success!
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