I want to first thank Chris from Bandzoogle for approaching me to do an interview for them; anytime I get asked to do an interview I gain a new found confidence in what I preach and teach and it feels good to know that people are paying attention.

It’s taken years of hard work to be able to understand all the different facets of the digital music business (not to mention marketing online in general to back it all up), and every interview I do I get to introduce many musicians and industry professionals my perception of how to get your name out there and get people’s attention.

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A few months back, you might recall the first time ReverbNation and Windows teamed up to promote free downloads. The campaign was a success for both parties – many bands got some serious exposure, ReverbNation and Windows got some ad love, and some acts got to put a few bucks in the bank (which they need to take whatever they can get at this point, especially if they are just starting out.)

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Singer/songwriter, zAck borer has big plans for 2010 and he’s not wasting any time. To kick off the new decade with a bang, zAck’s song “That’s The Way” is preloaded on the Google Nexus One, the latest android smartphone. zAck’s song was one of thirteen total tracks selected to come preloaded on every Google Nexus One device and can be accessed by clicking on the ‘music’ button from the main splash screen.

Users who like what they hear are able to discover more music from zAck by clicking on the links to iTunes and Amazon made available within the player or are presented the option of clicking through to YouTube to watch video of zAck.

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It was probably only a matter of time before Facebook and Google jumped on board the online music store bandwagon.

Facebook will be adding songs to it’s store, where users have a number of different sharing options. You can either pay a dime for a track, which will allow you to send it to friends, but they can only listen to it online, or pay ninety cents to send a copy that can be downloaded.

Google, in the meantime, looks like it’s going after iTunes.

They’ve teamed up with Lala and iLike, and possibly Imeem, for a project dubbed One Box.

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I recently discussed in detail how the record industry business model failed, and one of the main reasons was the growth of digital distribution options that artists have to sell and distribute their music and content.

Even though the internet has opened the doors wide open, up until recently it still has been difficult for the non-tech-savvy musicians to sell their music directly to the fan – that is, without a middle man.

Unless your paid for a developer to have your website set up to configure the sales process and had a back-end area for fans to download purchase tracks, you had to rely on channels like iTunes to take care of the distribution process.

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One of the things that I really dig right now about giving away free music is the poker game between artists.

When Radiohead released In Rainbows, Nine Inch Nails seemingly perfected the pay-what-you-want-format with The Slip.

Now on the heels of Radiohead giving away the track “These Are My Twisted Words”, Billy Corgan Smashing Pumpkins will raise the bar with the very ambitious Teargarden by Kaleidyscope.

The revamped Pumpkins will let fans snag the 44 track ‘album’ for free. Corgan went on to state:

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Today ReverbNation announced a partnership with Audiolife and the private Beta launch of the ‘Reverb Store’, a product that will make the opportunity of Direct-To-Fan e-commerce achievable for any Artist, Band, Label, or Manager that wants it, at no upfront or ongoing cost to operate.

The Reverb Store is a customizable, re-brandable, ‘official store’ that empowers the Artist to create unlimited virtual t-shirts, CDs, Downloads, and Ringtones with no out-of-pocket expense, and to sell those goods on homepages, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and Blogs directly to their fans. In addition, Artists can order customized items for sale at their shows, at wholesale or bulk prices.

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Back in June, Beck announced a new feature on his website, which officially launched in July. It was simply called Record Club. Basically, Record Club is Beck and his pals covering an album in one day all in one take. A new track will be offered as a download once a week.

The first Record Club featured MGMT, Devendra Banhart, Jamie Liddell and producer Nigel Godrich tackling the legendary album The Velvet Underground & Nico.

The most recent edition features Record Club vets MGMT and Devendra Banhart, as well as, Wolfmother’s Andrew Stockdale, putting their own spin on Leonard Cohen’s Songs of Leonard Cohen.

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I’ve had my eye on these guys for over a year now; pop-rock band State of Man, hailing from Atlanta. They’ve got pop radio written all over them, which whether you like it will always be a sound people can relate to. And there’s one song of theirs that are truly like a lot.

They recently released an album, but what I thought was cool is that today they are GIVING IT AWAY using ReverbNation. This is a very well produced album coming from an act that has probably spent a boatload to get where they are today.

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I had the pleasure of interviewing Brian a few months back, and with the release of his second album, A New Meaning, I figured now’s a good time to publish it!

Brian is unique in that he has self-released two albums under his alias Cyrenic – a one man band and producer. For someone without a live show to spread the word about his music, I was interested in Brain’s thoughts on creating music and using the web to distribute it.

Can you give us a little background on yourself and the Cyrenic project?

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A few months ago, Depeche Mode released what I believe was the first ever iTunes pass.

Basically, this was a pre-order of their new album that featured an advance tracks in addition to exclusive content while fans awaited the release of the new album.

Well, today, DMB has released their own iTunes pass; here’s the official scoop on what you get:

We are pleased to announce the news that DMB launched an iTunes Pass earlier today! With iTunes Pass, music fans can get new and exclusive albums, songs, video, remixes, art and other content from their favorite artists over a set period of time, delivered to their iTunes library as soon as they’re available.

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If you’re not a regular Digg user then this probably went under your radar; Trent answers questions from the Digg community, including many about the future of the music biz. Check it out:

FREE 30-day trial of ReverbNation’s Press Kit!

The Reverb Press Kit (RPK) is the most advanced press kit on the market, and it’s also the best bang for your buck. For the month of March, they are offering a FREE 30-day trial with full functionality for every Artist on ReverbNation!

Take it for a test drive today >>

Here’s a taste of what you’ll get:

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Portishead are looking to their fans to help them promote their next album, since the trio is yet another band free from a record contract.

Member Geoff Barrow recently left a MySpace Blog entitled “The Future” and, here’s what he had to say:

“We spent the day discussing the future of the P as we are free… well free of a deal and free of commitment… for now!”

The multi-instrumentalist went on to state:

“With the world being the way it is there are lots of options open…” and he added “But if you lot have any bright ideas of how we should sell our music in the future lets us know, why not!”

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