Building a successful career in music on your own terms and with your own two hands is a difficult task – the business side and the art of self promotion, may rain on the “rockstar” parade.

Your reaction may be – is it all worth it?

Another successful example of the wonders of social media and the marketing genius behind a talented DIY (Do It Yourself) artist, describes Imogen Heap as she tweeted us through the 2 years leading up to the release of Ellipse. Yes, she has a major record label, and when she began promoting Ellipse she already had a committed fan base – a host of films and TV shows featuring her music.  But with Ellipse Heap has expanded her reach exponentially thanks to her determination.  She refinanced her house to fund recording, and with over 1 million twitter followers, she communicates constantly with her fans. ” I’ve been tweeting about making my new album, Ellipse (out 24th Aug). Now… I guess I’ll be tweeting about how it gets from my studio to your ears.”

Using Twitter to allow her fans a glimpse into the world of a “rockstar” with a few lines of text en route to a Berlin airport, or while preparing for a video shoot -  responding fans RT or reply, just as friends would, and as the relationship grows – so grows the fan base and eventually trickle through revenue.

So, is it all worth it – considering the artist/fan relationship is the “expected” in today’s music marketplace and that relationship also takes a lot of time and energy to maintain – and with every successful relationship, takes time to nurture?  Being ‘all about the music’  is being about your career, and there are many other responsibilities vying for your attention.  Depending how deeply you feel your passion, and what sacrifices you’re willing to surrender in order to manifest a dream into reality – is the hard work, commitment and dedication really worth it – time will tell.  Join as many music networking sites as you possibly can, and build your Twitter profile, and may be the most important in your arsenal of social media tools.

And if you need a hand, don’t forget – There is professional help, that’s what we’re here for!

We’ve talked about the importance of using social networking tools such as Twitter, Facebook and Myspace, but without a reliable website, which is where your career magic begins, successful exposure may be dealt the back space card should a fan have to wait for slow page loading, or reach an error message when landing at your site.

We’ve experienced firsthand unreliable web hosting – from our artists websites being down for days at a time and being unable to access their site, to not reaching our hosting providers for explanation and resolutions. After much research and through our own valuable experience, we have taken the appropriate measures to insure our current web hosting service provides a strong Network Uptime Guarantee.

We offer a solution for all our artists that uses Rackspace technology, for the best hosting in the world. Absolute reliability, redundant server backups, fanatical 24/7 support, and a leader in the global community, Rackspace technology’s “Company” is socially aware and offers “A Greener Way of Doing Business”. From cost-effective green servers to company-wide conservation programs, they are dedicated to doing business in an eco-friendly way.

Pro Soul is constantly aware of the things that artists need to take care of. The last thing an artist needs to worry about is their hosted web site, the hub of their music career.

About 250-300 people attended the MIDEM seminar on Sunday. The stressed topic was Social Media. In previous years, MIDEM conferences focused on any hot topic affecting the music industry, and this year it was the artist-fan relationship. Social media is more and more being proven to be an effective means to market music and other media to a young and tech-savvy audience.

About 35% of those attending the seminar have not started using social networks as a way to promote themselves, 30% started last year and 35 % started two or more years ago. But a big question brought up in the conference was, are social networks effective in a means to make a profit?  83% of the audience said yes, 17% said no. So what is the most effective way to market oneself on a social network? 43% said artist-branded channels or sites, such as MySpace.

Fans want to be acquainted with an artist, so the artist-branded channels or sites work extremely well, and have worked very well for numerous artists. It was discussed that artists should link up and share with their own friends. This can also deliver good results.

At the end of the conference, the audience was asked if they were more or less likely to use networks for marketing in 2009; 69% said more, 19% said less and 11% said the same.

The basic consensus from the event is that social networking is:

1) cost effective,

2) user friendly,

3) an excellent means to be in touch with the young part of one’s audience, and

4) increasingly becoming more and more of an effective means to get one’s music out there in general.

As for how Pro Soul would answer the questions: we already help our artists effectively utilize many avenues for social networking, and we’ll continue to do so – and more – in 2009.  It is absolutely a vital part in building an audience and effectively monetizing the artist’s music.

Reps from Pro Soul, including founder Jarome Matthew, will be attending the SchMusic BC Networking Party in Vancouver tonight.  Come down to the Biltmore Cabaret at 395 Kingsway Street for a casual meet-and-greet with industry professionals and fellow artists.  How could you turn down complimentary drinks, food, prizes – and the opportunity to kick your music career into high gear with the help of Pro Soul?

The event starts at 6 pm tonight, but head over early to beat the massive crowds expected to turn out.

For details, visit Music BC.