iTunes may not be everyone's favorite mp3 distributor in the world, but, for the moment, it has become somewhat of a necessary evil for music producers and bands. Some have avoided this phenomenon by recognizing their niche audience and addressing their needs. Beatport has structured itself around the mainstream and underground dance scene; listening with a critical ear for music they will and will not distribute. Submerge Detroit is a unique model in that it serves as a distribution center for many of the city's techno and house labels. The question asked by many is: How do I promote myself through iTunes?

The most obvious answer comes back to something that most bands have now: a MySpace account. It's free, unless you're going premium or getting front page attention, and it's accessible to a wide range of people with interests all over the place. You can create a link within the iTunes store that will be embedded as an iTunes .gif on your page. By clicking the following link:

http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/
WebObjects/MZStoreServices.woa/wa/itmsLinkMaker

...you can create the embedded iTunes object with a direct link to your music. Then, the embed code will appear:

<a href="http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/
wa/viewAlbum?i=277566385&id=277566293&s=143441"><img height="15" width="61" alt="The Image Front - Gasping for Vengeance - Worshipping's Not Necessary, It's Required" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/images/
badgeitunes61x15dark.gif">

Now, what I can do with this code to enhance it for postings or email blasts is change a few pieces of data. First, I'm going to change the height and width to the size of my image.

Before:

<a href="http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/
wa/viewAlbum?i=277566385&id=277566293&s=143441"><img height="15" width="61"

After:

<a href="http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/
wa/viewAlbum?i=277566385&id=277566293&s=143441"><img height="280" width="400"

After changing the height, you can go ahead and edit the actual photo. In this case, I've selected our favorite metal band at Gearwire, Demonic Vomitorium:

Before:

alt="The Image Front - Gasping for Vengeance - Worshipping's Not Necessary, It's Required" src="http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/images/
badgeitunes61x15dark.gif">

After:

alt="The Image Front - Gasping for Vengeance - Worshipping's Not Necessary, It's Required" src="http://www.gearwire.com/media/corporaterock2.jpg">

Now, throw the modified iTunes code into your MySpace account or webpage, and you get a direct link to your iTunes store:

Another very useful promotional tool is the iMix creator in iTunes. First, create a playlist in iTunes, then throw a bunch of music in there, including your own, that has a common theme. In the case of Demonic Vomitorium, we might throw in a mix of black metal, death metal, thrash metal and smooth, corporate jazz. Then label your mix something catchy. The more buzz-wordy they are the better (i.e.- love songs, trucker anthems, or candy rave party '96).

Now that your mix is finished, export it using "File> Create iMix". This will prompt iTunes to connect to the internet (make sure you have an iTunes login to do this). iTunes will save your mix, and contact you via email once it is up. The key is to make sure that you pick groups that have a following and that perform similar music to what you do.

You can rate your mix, and send it to friends to rate as well. They can download the mix as a set, and if they like your music, download more of your songs. Again, these are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to marketing a new band, but they are great ways to make sure you have some visibility in iTunes.