Proposal to music labels

Thx to everyone for the input about my request to music labels.

I will put this down openly since i believe i will get a maximum of input that way.

Upon recommendation, i will be contacting music labels directly to get some kind of ‘authorization’ to play their bands music on my podcast.

I am listing the points for which i think my podcast could be beneficial to these labels, and i am much open to discuss the issues about how small labels can benefit from online radio shows.

Some of my questions to you are :

– Would listeners buy for online music, be it available as mp3?
For this, we would need to have all kind of music available online. Right now, and i hope it will change, mp3’s available trough iTune are really only commercial stuff. I did found some good stuff (Mylo, dj kicks etc.) on mp3.com, but it’s only available in the US. The cd era is mostly over we gotta figure out what’s next.

– We’ve got the technology to make online radio available to mostly anyone. How can small labels benefit from this?
Should labels sell their music in mp3 format directly on their websites? This does reduce production and distribution costs, and reduce the waiting time for a record to be available (think about the new daftpunk stuff that is already all over the p2p networks more than a month prior to the release).

– Should listeners pay for their favorite podcasts?

So here is the proposal, let me know what ya think. I am curious to see how this idea can evolve with our sharing about the topic.

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Hi there,

I am doing a web radio show and i’m writing to express my interest in having your authorization to play some of the bands that are on your label.

Here is a short FAQ about the show:

What is it:
– the show is a weekly, half an hour – free of advertising. I do it from my home, in Montreal, put it on my website where people can download it in mp3 format (what the average digital music device can read);
– the show is there for a week only
– my show is non profit, i am not making ANY money out of this – i am just a music lover sharing her passion about good music. I am taking time every week to compile my best of and share it with the rest of the world;
– i am asking your authorization to play your bands music in my show, this means one or two tracks every now and then;
– previous shows are listed here: http://www.mcturgeon.com/blog/archives/mixes_and_podcasts/_podcasts

What you get:
– a banner linking to a page of your choice on the label’s website. My website average stats show that about 500 people are visiting it each day;
– think global not local: listeners are coming from all’round the world on the web. Locals in Montreal as well as an international audience are reached;
– small indie bands get a maximum exposure that they couldn’t get anywhere else;
– my show does promote good music, local and international stuff that is not played by commercial radio stations. I play mostly indie rock pop electro and some house stuff.
– I do give proper credits to the artist, label and much more: artist website address, next performances dates, etc. These informations are spoken into the show AND listed on my website in the track-listing info.

so yeah, that’s pretty all about it.

Let me know if you are interested in my proposal –
do not hesitate to contact me for more infos,
or just to tell me how nice the weather is.

Marie-Chantale Turgeon,

When I Ride my Bike | Art & Design Studio
http://www.mcturgeon.com
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