This is a tip that anyone involved in the music business should find useful, especially if you send out music regularly. Â Recently I was going through my email, checking the music that I get sent on a regular basis and I realized something about which ones I choose to open first:
Those emails that offer direct downloads get opened first, and as a result that music goes into my crates faster. Â So what do I mean by direct downloads? Â Simple: a link to an mp3 in an email that starts downloading immediately when clicked. This is without a doubt the fastest and most effective way to deliver your music via email. Â You might be saying to yourself “it’s even faster just to attach the mp3 to the email” which is true but here’s the problem: you never know if a user is near their quota, thus the likelihood of your email not getting delivered (bounced back) is greater.
Most labels / PR firms / management agencies use sharing services such as mediafire, sendspace, or zshare when they blast out new music. Â While these services make it easier to share the music from person to person, there are a few drawbacks. Â The main problem: most of them make you wait for a countdown timer to expire before the download link becomes active. Â In addition to that, some of them only allow you download one file at a time, thus increasing your wait time if you have to download multiple files. Â Most DJs and bloggers (heck, people in general) have lots of music to download. Â Do you really want to make them wait to download yours? Â I know it sounds petty but it’s the truth. Â The instant gratification provided by internet has cut our attention spans down in a significantly. Â Instant is better and it always will be.
So how can you offer direct downloads?  If you already have a website that means you already have hosting and have the ability  to upload and host your media files (if you need help with this please ask whoever is in charge of your site. optionally, I’m available for consulting).  Once the file is uploaded to your server you can then paste the direct link into your email.  Here’s an example from a recent email:
All I had to do was click the link and the file started downloading. Â I didn’t even have to leave my email client to download it.
Obviously hosting the files yourself can lead to a higher hosting bill, but control over your music, statistics, and speed mean you’ve already gotten a return on your investment.  So get rid of the sharing services and make your end users happy.
If you absolutely have to use a sharing service I recommend one like Box.net – at least with them you can get great statistics and brand your download page.
