Summary: Ep. 95 - How To Promote Your Music Online - Music Marketing Strategies Part 3 of 4 Join Fanbase University <a href="http://www.fanbaseuniversity.com">http://www.fanbaseuniversity.com</a> Download Free Music Marketing Promotions Guide <a href="https://smartmusicbusiness.com/freesonglaunchchecklist">https://smartmusicbusiness.com/freesonglaunchchecklist</a> CHRIS: Well, hey, guys. I'm super stoked to have the VP of marketing from CD Baby, Kevin Bruener. I'm a huge fan, and he's just done so much for independent artists over the years. The company has just helped me totally change my career over the years, helped me sale more music, and had such an impact. I am super stoked to have Kevin from CD Baby on the line here. How are you doing, brother? KEVIN: I'm doing well. Thanks for having me. CHRIS: Yeah, man. Dude, seriously. I started working with CD Baby, or using your guys' stuff since 2001. KEVIN: Wow, wow. You predate me. CHRIS: That's crazy. Yeah, man. I remember getting the ... It's actually funny. We were moving or something, or I found an old bag the other day and it had the old CD Baby physical credit card swiper in there. KEVIN: Oh, man. That's a classic. CHRIS: For those of you that aren't listening, I guess that shows, people take credit cards ... Before the evolution of Square, we would swipe people's credit cards. I don't even know what we'd call it. It's like a little slip, and you'd fill it out manually. Then, mail them to you guys, and then you guys would, I guess ... I don't know, process them and then send us money or something like that. KEVIN: Yep, yep. That was back in the day. CHRIS: This doesn't exist. Obviously, I guess, they just don't even have that anymore. KEVIN: No, because the Square Reader came out, and there's no longer a need for it. CHRIS: Okay, awesome. KEVIN: Technology, you know, progresses. Things change, which is fine. CHRIS: Yeah. Well, dude, I'd love our audience to hear your story, because you don't just work at CD Baby. You're an artist, as well, too. That's what I love, is like artists helping other artists. I don't know. You just have such an amazing perspective, but I'd love for you to share your story with music, and then also how you started working at CD Baby and everything you guys do. KEVIN: Yeah. Well, I went to Nashville to study music in college. I went to Belmont University. That was one of the most challenging things I've ever done in my life, studying music. The requirements to pass those classes, meanwhile still having to pass history classes, and all these other things. It was insane. It was just extremely challenging. Then, not only that, being in Nashville with so many musicians, all of them who seemed far more talented than I was. It was just one of those big times of perseverance of my life of like, "This is what I want to do. I want to pursue music, and I'm going to make it happen. I don't care if those people are better than me. There's room for us all." KEVIN: While I was there, one of my roommates in college, he was friends with these guys back in Atlanta that were reforming a new band and were looking for a guitar player. I drove to Atlanta, and on my first day, I walked in to just rehearse and try things out with them, they were sending these three song demo tapes out to all the labels in there. This was 1996, by the way. CHRIS: Yeah. I love it. KEVIN: I started playing with them that summer, and doing festivals. They had always been playing ... They'd been road warriors since they were in high school. Every summer, they'd play like 50, 60 shows that they booked.
