Marketing Strategy #1: The Free EP

MULTIPLE “Obama, Obama” Ringtones Now Available!! Preview Them HERE: “Obama, Obama” Ringtone – 2.99 *Only 1.99, this week only (July 8-15, 2008)!

Song #5 on this blog – “Obama, Obama (Remake of Lil’ Wayne’s “A Milli”) - has proven to be popular.  VERY popular.

I put in on YouTube on June 22, and, as I’m typing this, it’s been seen by over 6,000, and its popularity has been doubling every day.  This type of exposure is what I’ve been DYING for ever since I started making music!

I originally had a download link for the song, as I do all my other songs, and by the end of the second day 29 people had already downloaded it.  This got my mind thinking: would people be willing to pay to download the song?  To find out, I took the original link down and posted up a link where people would have to purchase the song for 99 cents.

After I put the link up, I went to work.  While there, I had a sudden though: what if, instead of making people pay for the song, I used this song as a way to get some of my OTHER music out so people could get a real feel for the type of songs I make??

I’ve been making songs for quite a few years now, and have enough of a catalogue built up to where I can give some of my songs away for free.  Given that the song got downloaded by so many people so fast, I figured I could provide a link that had the “Obama, Obama” song, and include 4 other songs in the link so people could hear my other songs and, hopefully, start to become fans!

And that’s what I did.  Now, the link includes “Obama, Obama,” as well as 4 other songs of mine – “Hooptie,” “Erectile Dysfunction” (my Snoop Dogg “Sexual Seduction” parody), “Bust My GAT,” and “Shout Out 2 My Big Girls.” 

So far, the new link has been downloaded 50 times in 3 days, and I couldn’t be happier!!  Those downloads probably only represent a fraction of the people who’ve heard my stuff – I’m assuming those people have made copies for their friends to listen to, which means I’m slowly starting to develop a fan base!!

Oh yeah – for those too lazy to click to the original link for the song, click here to go to the download page for the “Obama” mixtape — “Obama, Obama” + Bouns Songs

Well, that’s all for today – it’s the 4th of July, and I’ve got fun to be had!

-A.P.T.

E-mail: aptsongs@hotmail.com

Video Casting + This Week’s Upcoming Song/Video

First: it’s 3:16 AM in the morning, and I have yet to go to sleep.  I think I’m starting to get used to requiring less and less sleep to function during the day – a good thing, actually, considering the business I’m trying to get into!

Anyway… so, like I’ve said before, having this site has opened up the flood gates in terms of my creativity.  Of course, even I know that, as a person currently doing all this stuff solo, there’s only so far I can go before I’ll want to involve other people.  One of these avenues, of course, is my music videos. 

Some of the songs I write tell stories where I’m interacting with other people.  The problem is, at the moment I’m the only person starring in these videos, and the few people I know here in Atlanta seem to be camera shy (or, at the very least, opposed to appearing on YouTube, lest the whole world see it).  It sucks because I have all these great ideas for videos, but can’t use them at the moment because I don’t know anybody willing to help out…

Well, scratch that – I just found out today that one of the girls I work with actually got her degree in… well, I forget, but it involves casting, and she said she might know some up-and-coming actors looking to build up their resume by starring in my videos.  Which works great for me – I wouldn’t have to pay them (though I probably would so they could put on their resumes that they were “paid” to be in a video), and I could expand my video-making capabilities!

In the meantime… so, I was going to shoot one video, but I really want to use another girl and guy in the video.  I’m going to try my darndest to get them; in the meantime, though, I thought of a GREAT song I could do this week.  It’s a great idea because it involves me re-making one of the hottest beats currently out there, while at the same time talking about certain current events in this country.

I can’t give too much away, but I’m pretty sure this song will end up being as big as “Erectile Dysfuction” is (currently at 11,000 views and counting!).  I know of at least one person who will like the song (I’m talking about YOU, Ms. Goff), which is enough reason for me to make it.  I haven’t written the song yet, and the only thing I have so far is the chorus, but I have off all day Friday to make the song AND record the video.  (Well, that, and I’ll probably catch a movie – can we say “Love Guru” AND “Get Smart” in the same day?!?)

Okay, that’s it from me – I’ll probably write more later this week.  Then again, maybe not.  Either way, definitely check back here Sunday!

-A.P.T.

Thanks for the Views + Behind the Scenes Studio Footage!

Hey everybody!

First, I’d like to begin by saying “thank you” to everyone who recently viewed my most recent video, “Smile 4 Dad.”  It truly was a symbolic father’s day gift to my Dad, but I had no idea how many people I’d touch with the song.  It also received quite a few downloads, so again, THANK YOU, and remember, I have other songs for download on the site, too!

Anyway… now that I’ve started this site and practically dared myself to make up a song each week, the ideas have been flooding in!  I listen to new beats at least 3 times a week now, and I usually just listen to them and freestyle something off into each beat I like.  The freestyles that end up having good choruses or concepts are the ones I keep – I like to do it that way because…

…well, if you just write a song, it usually ends up having the same pattern of rhyme.  Ever heard a song by Plies before (think, “Shawty” featuring T-Pain)?  His pattern sounds the exact same through each line of his songs, and it annoys me.  That’s why I like rappers like Jay-Z and Eminem – even if they write some of their lines (Eminem more than Jay-Z), they’re smart enough to change up their style thoughout the song, so as to take their listeners on a musical journey.

I found myself doing the same thing at one point; now, I mix freestyle lyrics in with written lyrics so I won’t just be reading into a pattern.  For example, in “Shout Out to My Big Girls,” the whole first verse was originally a freestyle, while the second verse is mostly written – both verses sound drastically different from each other, yet they both go with the rhythm of the song.

Yes, you’d be surprised how much thought I put into these songs, people!  I could type about it all day, but unless you’re a music nerd like me, it could get pretty boring.

With all that said, I’m working on new songs right now, and already recorded parts for next week’s music video today!  This is SO much fun, people, and I’d like even MORE people to check out the site, so feel free to send your friends the link:

www.aptsongs.wordpress.com!

Oh yeah – if you’ve read this far, here’s a treat: a brief video of my recording “studio!”  I live in a studio aparmtent, so legally, I can say I have my own studio, ha ha ha!  Check it out below:

-A.P.T.

www.aptsongs.wordpress.com

One-Song-A-Week: Song #1 – Erectile Dysfunction (Snoop Dogg Sensual Seduction Parody)

This week’s song/video is called “Erectile Dysfunction” (A Parody of Snoop Dogg’s “Sensual Seduction”) – Appeared on “The O-bama Mixtape!”

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INSIGHT INTO A SONG:

Last December, Snoop Dogg released his song, “Sensual Seduction,” and after one listen, I KNEW this song would be ripe for a parody!  After taking two days to figure out what I could use as subject matter that would sound close to the phonetics of the original song, I suddenly thought of “Erectile Dysfunction” and burst out laughing!

Clearly, this was a good idea to run with.

I recorded it and wanted to get the song out there, but I had two problems: one, I didn’t have time to put a REAL video together because it was around Christmas and staying with family; and two, I wasn’t too familiar with any free MP3 download sites.  So, I found a bunch of pictures online, pasted them and put them together on www.onetruemedia.com, loaded up the music and made a crappy-ass video for the song, figuring it wouldn’t get much play, but I could at least send it out to my friends via youtube.

Imagine my surprise when, one day after putting it on youtube, it had 120 views – and I hadn’t even told anyone about the song yet!

5 months later, the song just passed the 10,000 view mark.  My brother’s girlfriend’s brother, who goes to VCU, said it was the #1 downloaded song at his school – odd, given that I didn’t give a link address for the download of the song until last month.  Guess someone must have recorded it and sent it around – and I couldn’t be happier about it!

So, enjoy the song! Come back next week for another song, courtesy of me!

-A.P.T.

*UPDATE: After the project ended, I started working on another website featuring a character named Non Juan, a puppet who is terrible at getting ladies to date him.  One of the music videos we shot for him was a remake of “Erectile Dysfunction” recorded in his voice.  This is the video that now takes the place of the original video which, as you may recall, was very, very crappy.  Enjoy!” – A.P.T., May 18, 2010.*

E-mail: aptsongs@hotmail.com