In this post I will summarize what I do to promote my music on the Internet. I will also let you know of the efforts involved, the costs and the impact it has had.

This will be a long post and if you have little time, I suggest that you scroll down and look at the headers below and focus on methods you haven’t used to promote your music.

Create an Official Artist Web Site

Early on I made sure to register my artist name as a .com domain name. That was 12 years ago and you may find that yours has already been taken, but it’s still important to create your official site so consider to register the .net domain, or your local country suffix, and build an official artist web site.

My site is now in its 5th generation and I’ve put a lot of effort into developing it. Luckily I have some knowledge in web development so I can design, develop, and maintain my own web site. This may be something you need to get help with if you have little knowledge about development.

Experience, feedback, and statistics from the five generations of my site all point to the following criteria for success:

1. Stylish but simple
2. Easy for visitors to navigate
3. Easy for visitors to instantly hear your music
4. Links to and integration with social media (e.g. Facebook Like and AddThis)
5. Search Engine Optimization with Search Engine Friendly URLs
   Each one of my tracks automatically get an unique URL, e.g. http://music.imphenzia.com/tracks/time-travel.html. These pages contain keywords and a description specific to the track and the benefit of this that instead of having search engines index just one page containing all tracks it will index, in my case, over 85 additional pages.
6. Keep your site updated with your latest music and latest news
7. Use statistics, such as Google Analytics, to see how visitors find your site

If, for whatever reason, creating a web site is not for you – I still recommend that you register a domain name and point it to your main point of presence on the Internet whether it’d be a MySpace page or a Soundclick page for example. Remember, an URL like www.imphenzia.com is always more appealing and much easier to promote than an URL such as www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=701131.

Cost: I pay $10/y for my domain name and $50/y for my web hotel, $0 for development
Effort: Very high for custom web site with shopping cart, could be low for simple sites
Visitors/Plays: My artist site averages around 20-25 unique visitors per day

Mailing List

A mailing list is extremely important. It will enable you to reach many eager listeners waiting for your next release. I have developed my own mailing list but many artist sites offer this as part of their functionality.

Make sure that you send relevant information to your mailing list users and whatever you do, don’t spam them with useless information as it will only result in them unsubscribing from your list. This brings me to another important feature; make sure it easy to unsubscribe from the list as it will encourage more people to sign up. You can see my example image (click to enlarge) how I announce a new track release, also note the one click unsubscribe feature at the bottom.

Make it easy see and sign up to the mailing list. I value subscribers so much that I give away a digital album to everyone that signs up. If your list supports such a feature, or you develop your own mailing list, consider giving your new subscribers a generous gift.

The image above shows how I’ve presented my subscribe to mailing list feature. It’s located in the very center of my welcome page and signup is easy, just enter an email address and click sign up (the digital album will be sent to the subscriber’s email as a welcome gift.)

Cost: I developed my own mailing list for free, and there are free mailing lists available
Effort: Little effort is spend maintaining the list. It took some time to develop but there are free alternatives.
Subscribers: My list currently contains 737 valid addresses

Social Media Presence

Personally, I hate Facebook and all types of social media sites. I frequently get surprised of how willing some people are to expose themselves and their private affairs. Nevertheless, social media is an essential tool to promote your music and it is very powerful.

Facebook is the most important site to be on. Create an artist page and announce your new releases, special offers, teasers, previews, news and so forth. The more people you get that “like” your artist page the better. Every announcement you make will appear on their “Facebook wall” so in that sense it’s similar to an mailing list with the added benefit that you get comments and interaction with your fans.

Twitter is another one I hate, but again, you have to be on it. Link twitter updates with facebook updates (there are features on the sites to do this) to make your updates appear on multiple sites automatically with little effort. You should also encourage people to follow you on twitter and facebook whenever possible.

Follow other twitter users with similar interests – it is likely that they will follow you in return. This doesn’t mean you have to read everyone’s uninteresting updates because you can disable email notifications if you are only interested in twitter as a marketing method (as opposed to a social tool.)

Costs: $0 (free)
Effort: Little effort required to maintain presence at Facebook and Twitter
Visitors/Plays: I have 373 facebook fans and 116 twitter followers

YouTube Videos

YouTube is another great site to maintain your presence. Even if you don’t have music videos, consider uploading your tracks with a simple image because surprisingly many people go to YouTube to listen to music. You can also use free online tools such as “Animoto” to create some visually pleasing videos for your music.

Here are some examples of how I used YouTube (and other video sites such as Vimeo) to promote my music:

• New track teaser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f3sjbtrTn4
• New album teaser: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgQGuCvel7c
• Created using Animoto: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKnevRD3tRU

Create Tutorials

Creating tutorials, especially video tutorials, is another very powerful method to reach listeners. Granted, it will mostly attract other artists, but nevertheless they are humans and fans too. My tutorial videos have been viewed over 100’000 times and I’m not sure how many have actually turned into fans but such a large number of views is bound to bring some fans your way. Don’t forget to clearly promote your URL to your artist site in any tutorials you create.

Here is an example of a video tutorial I’ve created: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZO5u7hNA1mo

Cost: $0 (free)
Effort: Little for single tracks, high for tutorials and animated videos
Video Views: 163’139 video views

Describe Your Music with Keywords and Descriptions

Everywhere you are present, describe your music and videos with many interesting and relevant keywords. Use details such as equipment you used and sources of inspiration etc. Search engines will index your music and people will find you when searching for music created using a particular instrument or music that sounds similar to a particular artist.

Cost, effort, visitors: n/a

Join Artist Sites

Dedicated artists and musician web sites such as soundclick.com and soundcloud.com are important to be on. You can usually upload your music to be hosted for free although some restrictions will usually apply. Be prepared that the registration and upload process will require a fair amount of your time. Describe your music, preferably with varying descriptions for each site, to increase the exposure to search engines.

These type of sites come and go and some will remain active longer than others. Examples of sites that are no longer active where  I used to gain a lot of exposure at were mp3.com, ampcast, and peoplesound but they are since long gone.

Soundclick.com
Cost: I pay $9.95 per month for VIP account, but free account is available
Effort:  Little to maintain, initially high to upload music if you have many tracks
Visitors/Plays:  101’083 page views, 370’365 song plays

Soundcloud.com
Cost: $0 (free) I’ve opted for the free account at this stage
Effort: Little to medium depending on how many tracks you have
Song Plays: 1122  (I am not very active at soundcloud, yet)

Artist Sites Top Lists

Another benefit with artist sites is that they commonly have top lists and you will gain exposure if you can get one or more of your tracks into these lists. I have 370’000+ plays at soundclick.com and this is mainly due to some of my tracks ranking in the genre top lists. In an attempt to get into the top lists I decided to go for a paid promotion. I paid $25 for “Promo Song of the Day” (it is now priced at $50) and it rocketed my track to the #1 spot for the entire electronic music genre. Since then the track has promoted itself just by being present in the top 25 of the sub-genre.

Artist Sites Music Groups

Artists sites also commonly feature music groups that you can join and where you can share your music. At soundcloud.com, join relevant groups and share your tracks. I personally haven’t had much exposure through these groups but it may very well be due to lack of effort and involvement on my part.

Digital Distribution / Digital Stores / Streaming (Spotify)

Use an “aggregator” (such as Ubetoo.com, Tunecore.com, CDBaby.com, RouteNote.com, Recordunion.com) to distribute your music to digital stores (such as iTunes, Amazon MP3, etc) and streaming services (such as Spotify.)

Peasonally I use Ubetoo for digital distribution because they allow unlimited number of singles and albums for an annual subscription fee of around $80. Ubetoo also distribute the music to 500 digital stores which I believe is more stores than any of the competitors.

Other aggregators usually charge an annual fee per song and album and turns out to be a lot more expensive than Ubetoo if you have 5 albums and 85 single tracks as I do. The exception is RouteNote and they now have a free alternative but they don’t reach as many digital stores as Ubetoo so I don’t think I will switch.

Some important things to be aware of with aggregators:

1. All aggregators have awful terms and conditions – you give them exclusive rights for distribution with terrible termination clauses but as an independent artist you can’t do anything about this other than leave it or accept it.
2. Reporting and processing times are what you’d expect from a third world country. It takes weeks and weeks for tracks to appear on Spotify and the statistics make it very difficult to understand where the royalties come from.

Regarding Spotify, simply having your music in the Spotify catalog will likely not result in much exposure by itself. Saying this it is still important to have your music on such popular streaming sites because once a fan has discovered they will probably enjoy having easy access to your music through such services. 

Cost: $80/y (Ubetoo)
Effort: High initially to upload all your tracks and define releases (if you have many)
Plays/Royalties: I get about $50 in royalties (100%) from Ubetoo every 3 months. Due to awful statistics it’s difficult to way what store or service the royalties come from.

Blog

The main purpose of this blog is simple; I write posts to attract an audience through search engines and I hope that my readers will also discover and enjoy my music. A positive side effect of this promotion method is that I may end up helping other artists along the way =) It’s also a good way to give your fans insight to what you are up to.

Cost: $0 (free) There are free blog sites available
Effort: Medium, it takes some time to write blog posts
Visitors: 10-60 visitors per day

Music Forums

Internet forums, especially specific to the genre of music that you create, are useful for promotional purposes. The downside to forums are that you may have to spend a lot of time to get involved in discussions before you promote your music in a non-spamming fashion.  At the same time, if you enjoy engaging in discussions, this may be the perfect way for you to build a name.

A good approach is to first introduce yourself. in the forum Make sure you have an appealing forum profile signature with a link to your web site. Write feedback to other artists seeking feedback. Announce your new releases only in sub forums for such announcements because anything that could be considered to be spam will backfire. Seek constructive feedback on your music as it will both improve your music at the same time as you will gain some exposure.

Cost: $0 (free)
Effort: High to build reputation and maintain presence
Visitors/Plays: Unknown

Paid Promotions

I’ve made a few attempts with paid promotion, such as Google Adwords and Facebook Ads. These cost a fair amount per click so it may be out of reach for independent artists and I don’t find it to appealing to go this route due to the costs involved.

The most effective promotion, by far, has been the promotion features at soundclick.com that resulted in thousands of plays in a single day for $25.

Cost: I’ve paid around $200 for Facebook ads and $100 for Google Adwords
Effort: Little effort is required to create paid promotions
Visitors:  Google and Facebook ads only resulted in around 500 clicks. Soundclick promotion resulted in thousands of song plays.

Fun, Odd, and Individual Promotion Methods

In addition to the above, there are additional attempts I’ve made to promote my music but they are very specific to my hobbies and interests. I’ll mention them anyway for the sake of it =)

Develop Games – I make simple computer games that feature my music. Some of the games are released as freeware and the game Beat Ball, for example, was featured in a large German computer magazine that to this day (10 years on) turns out to be a large source of my German fans.

Sponsor Virtual Racing Team – A virtual Live For Speed race team I founded, Nordic Racing Group, features the Imphenzia logo and Imphenzia URL on the race cars:

Conclusion

There are many creative ways to promote your music online and you have to be prepared to make a huge effort in order to get noticed. I’ve released over 85 tracks (and 5 albums.) I’ve spent countless hours promoting my music online for over a decade using the methods above.

You could argue that it’s not worth the effort, and solely from the perspective of time and economic reward it clearly isn’t. But knowing that my music has been played over a million times (including historic sites such as mp3.com), and looking at the positive feedback I receive from my listeners, I feel that it’s been well worth the effort.

I hope you found some useful ideas to promote your music and best of luck reaching a wider audience.

If you don’t know of the spacesynth genre, not to worry. Neither did I until recently. I have, in fact, loved the genre for decades without actually knowing what it was called. I would, probably wrongfully, describe it as a modern take of the best oldschool “mod” music from the golden Amiga era of the 90s. The duo started making music using Pro Tracker on the Atari, so maybe I’m not entirely under water with my comparison. I find it to be a treasure that melodic elements have been kept intact in the music of mindXpander, even 20 years on!

The album contains 7 lengthy tracks (durations range from 05:30 to 07:32) with a nice variety of tunes. Production quality is excellent and the instruments used are crisp and sound very unlike default presets and patches. I have some insider information from David of mindXpander that quite a lot of time is spent creating new awesome sounds using modular synths. Personally I would freak out if a saw a single cable today, but these guys clearly know what they are doing.

One of my favorite tracks on the album is #4, “Hoshi No Koe“, as it reminds me very much of a mod tune named “Space Debris” by Captain. Space Debris is a legendary track that got me involved in making music to begin with back in the 90s. Listening to Hoshi No Koe brings me back memories. Great memories. The difference is that now I can enjoy a crisp modern production and the mix sits great in my Sennheiser PXC450 headphones.

Another great track from the album is the first one, “Blue Creatures.” I must admit that the initial 13 seconds are a bit “cliché” (synth music with a typical bassline) - but give it a few seconds and the experience quickly turns into a very enjoyable uplifting melodic journey.

The genre is different from the music I make, but you may find melodic similarities as this style has influenced me a lot over the years. Personally I bought Triumphant Return as an MP3/FLAC album on bandcamp before even reaching the midpoint of Blue Creatures. If you like it as much as I do, consider supporting mindXpander by purchasing Triumphant Return and enjoy it offline in very high quality =)

I will also take this opportunity to inform everyone that I’m working on a little surprise Imphenzia project. Keep your eyes and ears open!

Maybe the simplest way to start off is to demonstrate how the scripts work with this video:

(Watch in HD at YouTube for better readability)

Click HERE TO DOWNLOAD the zip file containing the scripts.

Create_watermark.vbs Explained

This is a VBScript that will loop through a directory full of WAV audio files and mix them with watermark audio files. The script uses the free application Sound eXchange (SoX) to achieve this.

The script is also designed to take the duration of the audio file to be watermarked and apply a watermark with a suitable frequency.

Shorter audio files will be watermarked frequently and longer audio files will have less frequent watermarks to make it less annoying.

You can customize the watermark files to contain anything you want. If you want to change the name or format of them you’ll have to modify the script appropriately.

You can download the entire script package and demo files at the top of this post, but if you wish to have a look at the script itself, here it is:

' #############################################################################
'  IMPHENZIA SOUNDTRACK WATERMARKING SCRIPT    http://soundtrack.imphenzia.com
' #############################################################################

' ## DESCRIPTION ##############################################################

'   This VB script uses Sound eXchange (SoX) (http://sox.sourceforge.net) to
'   create watermarked WAV files.

'   Based on the duration of the WAV files you wish to watermark, the script
'   will select a suitable frequency of the watermark. By default the following
'   logic is applied:
'     0-5 second music file: watermark occurs every 2.5 seconds
'     5-15 second music file: watermark occurs every 5 seconds
'     15-30 second music file: watermark occurs every 10 seconds
'     30-1200 second music file: watermark occurs every 30 seconds
'     > 20 minutes files are not supported - change the script if necessary.

' ## INSTRUCTIONS #############################################################

'   1. Put your original WAV files that you wish to watermarked in the
'      subfolder "input-wav-originals"

'   2. Execute this script and it will create watermarked WAV files in the
'      subfolder "output-wav-watermarked"

' ## CHANGING THE WATERMARK ###################################################

'   The default watermark says the word "preview" at different intervals
'   depending on the duration of the WAV file. You can change the watermark
'   audio files but I recommend that you keep the name and ogg format of the
'   watermark files so you don't have to modify the script.

'   To change the watermark, replace the audio in the watermark files. Use
'   trial and error to find a suitable volume (I recommend peaks at around
'   -8 dB) and frequency of the watermark.

' ## LICENSE ##################################################################
'   You're free to use this script and the watermark OGG files free of charge.
'   If this script saves you a lot of time, a donation to paypal@imphenzia.com
'   is very welcome =)

'   SoX is a free application available at the URL in the description. This
'   script is very dependent on the exact output SoX generates to read
'   information so a version of SoX is included in the archive.

'   (You may not sell the script or any of the files)

Dim source_folder, destination_folder
Dim watermark_folder, watermark_file, log_filename

' ## CUSTOMIZABLE VARIABLES ###################################################
source_folder =      "input-wav-originals"
destination_folder = "output-wav-watermarked"
watermark_folder =   "input-watermarks"
log_filename =       "watermark-log.txt" ' Filename for log file (overwritten)
use_volume =         true                ' Watermark volume based on original

' You shouldn't need to edit any of the below script
' -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dim wshshell, filesys, folder, files_collection, filecount, filename
Dim outputfile, logoutput, duration, volume, volumedecimal, n

' ## Create Filesystem Objects
Set wshshell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
Set filesys = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")
Set folder = filesys.GetFolder(source_folder & "\.")
Set files_collection = folder.Files
Set logoutput = filesys.OpenTextFile(log_filename, 2, True)

' ## Ensure that the output directory exists, if not then create it
if not filesys.FolderExists( destination_folder ) then _
  filesys.CreateFolder destination_folder

' ## Create header in log file
logoutput.WriteLine("Source File, Source Duration, Watermark, " & _
                    "Source Amplitude, Watermark Amplitude")

' ## Loop through all original wav files
filecount = files_collection.Count
for each file in files_collection
  filename = file.name
  if lcase(right(filename,4))=".wav" then

  ' ## If a watermarked version does not exists, create one
  if not filesys.FileExists( destination_folder & "\" & filename ) then

    ' ## Select appropriate watermarked file based on duration of source file
    duration = CLng(runCMD("sox --info -s """ & _
       source_folder & "\" & filename & """"))

    if duration <= 220500 then _
       watermark_file = watermark_folder & "\preview-0-5sec.ogg"
    if duration > 220500 and duration <= 661500 then _
       watermark_file = watermark_folder & "\preview-5-15sec.ogg"
    if duration > 661500 and duration <= 1323000 then _
       watermark_file = watermark_folder & "\preview-15-30sec.ogg"
    if duration > 1323000 then _
       watermark_file = watermark_folder & "\preview-30-1200sec.ogg"

    ' ## If volume is used, set volume based on amplitude of source wav file
    if use_volume then
      volume = runCMDAlt("sox """ & source_folder & "\" & filename & _
         """ -n stat")
      volume = mid(volume,123,8)
      volumedecimal = CDbl(replace(volume, ".", ","))
    else
      volumedecimal = 1.0
    end if

    ' ## Mix source wav file and watermark file to create a watermarked file
    wshshell.Run "sox -m  -v 1 """ & source_folder & "\" & filename & _
       """ -v " & replace((volumedecimal*volumedecimal),",",".") & _
       " """ & watermark_file & """ """ & destination_folder & _
       "\" & filename & """ trim 0s " & duration & "s",0,true

    ' ## Write the action to log file
    logoutput.WriteLine(source_folder & "\" & filename & "," & _
       watermark_file & "," & replace((CDbl(duration)/44100),",",".") & "," & _
       volume & "," & replace((volumedecimal*volumedecimal),",","."))

    n=n+1
    end if
  end if
next

if n=0 then
  wscript.echo "No Files Created " & vbCrLf & _
               "If watermarked files already exist they are not recreated"
else
  wscript.echo "Done! " & vbCrLf & n & " Watermarked File(s) Created "
end if

' Supporting function to capture the output of command line
function runCMD(strRunCmd)
  Set objExec = wshshell.Exec(strRunCmd)
  strOut = ""
  Do While Not objExec.StdOut.AtEndOfStream
    strOut = strOut & objExec.StdOut.ReadLine()
  Loop
  runCMD = strOut
End Function

' Supporting function to capture error output (workaround)
Function runCMDAlt(strRunCmd)
  Set objExec = wshshell.Exec(strRunCmd)
  strOut = ""
  strOut = objExec.StdErr.ReadAll()
  runCMDAlt = strOut
End Function

Encode_files.vbs Explained

This is a script that will loop through two directories, one full of original WAV audio/music files and one full of watermarked WAV files (if you previously ran the Create_watermarks.vbs script). As the script loops through all the available WAV files it will encode them into MP3 and OGG files and also update the meta tags containing information such as title, artist, publisher, copyright info, comments, URL, etc.

The script is designed so that you can enter meta tags and customize bit rate that you wish to encode your files with. Once you’ve got this running you can quickly re-encode your files into any bitrate or modify the meta tags without having to do it all manually.

You can download the entire script package and demo files at the top of this post, but if you wish to have a look at the script itself, here it is:

' #############################################################################
'  IMPHENZIA SOUNDTRACK ENCODING SCRIPT        http://soundtrack.imphenzia.com
' #############################################################################
'  Version: 1.0

' ## DESCRIPTION ##############################################################

'   This scripts encodes the wav files in the folder "input-wav-originals" and
'   "output-wav-watermarked" into MP3 and OGG files.

'   The script also creates meta tags for the MP3 and OGG files based on the
'   source file name and additional customizable in this script.

'   You can set the bitrate of the MP3 and OGG files in this script as well.

' ## INSTRUCTIONS #############################################################

'   1. Ensure that the WAV files in the "input-wav-originals" folder and the
'      "output-wav-watermarked" folders contain files named according to the
'      following naming standard:
'        Arist Name_Song Name_Music Genre_Year
'      Example:
'        Imphenzia Soundtrack_Fog of War (Main Part Loop)_Orchestral_2011.wav

'   2. Customize the encoding bitrates for the original and watermarked MP3
'      and OGG files (see CUSTOMIZABLE ENCODING BITRATES)

'   3. Customize the MP3 and OGG meta tags (see CUSTOMIZABLE MP3 and OGG TAGS)

'   4. Double click on the script to begin the encoding process. The script
'      will create MP3 and OGG files in the appropriately named output folders.

' ## LICENSE ##################################################################

'   You're free to use this script and the watermark OGG files free of charge.
'   If this script saves you a lot of time, a donation to paypal@imphenzia.com
'   is very welcome =)

'   This script uses the following freeware and/or open source applications:
'   lame.exe - http://www.mp3dev.org
'   metamp3.exe - http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=49751
'   oggenc.exe - http://www.rarewares.org/ogg-oggenc.php
'   tag.exe - http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Tag_(tagger)

'   (You may not sell the script or any of the files)

Dim source_folder, source_watermarked_folder
Dim destination_mp3_original, destination_mp3_watermarked
Dim destination_ogg_original, destination_ogg_watermarked
Dim mp3_original_bitrate, mp3_watermarked_bitrate
Dim ogg_original_bitrate, ogg_watermarked_bitrate
Dim tag_encoder_name, tag_publisher_name, tag_copyright_name, tag_url
Dim tag_composer_name, tag_comment, tag_album, tag_watermarked_prefix

' ## CUSTOMIZABLE FOLDERS #####################################################
source_folder =               "input-wav-originals"
source_watermarked_folder =   "output-wav-watermarked"
destination_mp3_original =    "output-mp3-original"
destination_mp3_watermarked = "output-mp3-watermarked"
destination_ogg_original =    "output-ogg-original"
destination_ogg_watermarked = "output-ogg-watermarked"

' ## CUSTOMIZABLE ENCODING BITRATES ###########################################
mp3_original_bitrate =    "160"  ' Bitrate in kbps
mp3_watermarked_bitrate = "96"   ' Bitrate in kbps
ogg_original_bitrate =    "128"  ' Bitrate in kbps
ogg_watermarked_bitrate = "64"   ' Bitrate in kbps

' ## CUSTOMIZABLE MP3 and OGG TAGS#############################################
tag_encoder_name =   "ENCODER NAME HERE"
tag_publisher_name = "PUBLISHER NAME HERE"
tag_copyright_name = "COPYRIGHT HOLDER NAME HERE"
tag_url =            "http://YOUR URL HERE"
tag_composer_name =  "COMPOSER NAME HERE"
tag_comment =        "Encoded using script by http://soundtrack.imphenzia.com"
tag_album =          "TEXT FOR ALBUM FIELD HERE"
tag_watermarked_prefix = "Preview: "

' You shouldn't need to edit any of the below script
' -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

' Ensure that cscript is executed instead of wscript - otherwise status
' messages will appear in popups instead of console window.

If LCase(Right(Wscript.FullName, 11)) = "wscript.exe" Then
    strPath = Wscript.ScriptFullName
    strCommand = "%comspec% /k cscript  """ & strPath & """"
    Set objShell = CreateObject("Wscript.Shell")
    objShell.Run(strCommand), 1, True
    Wscript.Quit
End If

Dim wshshell, filesys, folder, files_collection, filecount, filename
Dim mp3counter, oggcounter, outputfile
Dim tag_artist, tag_title, tag_genre, tag_year
oggcounter = 0
mp3counter = 0

wscript.echo "Begin encoding process."

Set wshshell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
Set filesys = CreateObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject")

' ## Ensure that the output directories exists, if not then create them
if not filesys.FolderExists( destination_mp3_original ) then _
  filesys.CreateFolder destination_mp3_original
if not filesys.FolderExists( destination_ogg_original ) then _
  filesys.CreateFolder destination_ogg_original
if not filesys.FolderExists( destination_mp3_watermarked ) then _
  filesys.CreateFolder destination_mp3_watermarked
if not filesys.FolderExists( destination_ogg_watermarked ) then _
  filesys.CreateFolder destination_ogg_watermarked

' ## Encode Original (non-watermarked) files ##################################
Set folder = filesys.GetFolder(source_folder & "\.")
Set files_collection = folder.Files
filecount = files_collection.Count

for each file in files_collection
  ' ## Only process WAV files
  filename = file.name
  if lcase(right(filename,4))=".wav" then

    ' ## Set tags based on the filename
    ' ## Source File Name Format: Artist Name_Song Name_Music Genre_Year
    tag_artist = GetParam(filename,0)
    tag_title = GetParam(filename,1)
    tag_genre = GetParam(filename,2)
    tag_year = GetParam(filename,3)

    ' ## Create web friendly name for output file (artist-name-song-name)
    outputfile = WebFriendlyName(GetParam(filename,0) & " - " & _
                                 GetParam(filename,1) ,0,0)

    ' ## MP3 Encoding ---------------------------------------------------------
    ' ## Create option string for MP3 meta tags
    optstr = ""
    optstr = optstr & " --title " & """" & tag_title & """"
    optstr = optstr & " --artist " & """" & tag_artist & """"
    optstr = optstr & " --comment " & """" & tag_comment & """"
    optstr = optstr & " --genre " & """" & tag_genre & """"
    optstr = optstr & " --year " & """" & tag_year & """"
    optstr = optstr & " --album " & """" & tag_album & """"
    optstr = optstr & " --user-url " & """" & tag_url & """"
    optstr = optstr & " --frame TCOM:" & """" & tag_composer_name & """"
    optstr = optstr & " --frame TENC:" & """" & tag_encoder_name & """"
    optstr = optstr & " --frame TPUB:" & """" & tag_publisher_name & """"
    optstr = optstr & " --frame TCOP:" & """" & tag_copyright_name & """"

    ' ## Only encode the MP3 file if it doesn't already exist
    if not filesys.FileExists( destination_mp3_original & "\" & _
                               outputfile & ".mp3" ) then

      wscript.echo "Encoding Original mp3 with a bitrate of " & _
                    mp3_original_bitrate & "kbps: " & vbCrLf & _
                    " " & outputfile & ".mp3" & vbCrLf

      ' ## Use Lame to encode the mp3 file
      wshshell.Run "lame.exe -b " & mp3_original_bitrate & _
                   " -c """ & source_folder & "\" & filename & """ " & _
                   """" & destination_mp3_original & "\" & outputfile & _
                   ".mp3""",0,true

      ' ## Use Metamp3 to create the mp3 tag
      wshshell.Run "metamp3.exe " & optstr & " """ & _
                   destination_mp3_original & "\" & outputfile & _
                   ".mp3""",0,true
      mp3counter = mp3counter + 1

    end if

    ' ## OGG Encoding ---------------------------------------------------------
    ' ## Create option string for OGG meta tags
    optstr = ""
    optstr = optstr & " --title " & """" & tag_title & """"
    optstr = optstr & " --artist " & """" & tag_artist & """"
    optstr = optstr & " --comment " & """" & tag_comment & """"
    optstr = optstr & " --genre " & """" & tag_genre & """"
    optstr = optstr & " --year " & """" & tag_year & """"
    optstr = optstr & " --album " & """" & tag_album & """"
    optstr = optstr & " -t URL=" & """" & tag_url & """"
    optstr = optstr & " -t COMPOSER=" & """" & tag_composer_name & """"
    optstr = optstr & " -t PUBLISHER=" & """" & tag_publisher_name & """"
    optstr = optstr & " -t COPYRIGHT=" & """" & tag_copyright_name & """"

    ' ## Only encode the OGG file if it doesn't already exist
    if not filesys.FileExists( destination_ogg_original & "\" &_
                               outputfile & ".ogg" ) then

      wscript.echo "Encoding Original ogg with a bitrate of " & _
                    ogg_original_bitrate & "kbps: " & vbCrLf & _
                    " " & outputfile & ".ogg" & vbCrLf

      ' ## Use Oggenc to encode the ogg file
      wshshell.Run "oggenc.exe -b " & ogg_original_bitrate & _
                   " --output=""" & destination_ogg_original & "\" & _
                   outputfile & ".ogg"" """ & source_folder & "\" & _
                   filename & """",0,true

      ' ## Use Tag to create the ogg tag
      wshshell.Run "Tag.exe " & optstr & " """ & destination_ogg_original & _
                   "\" & outputfile & ".ogg""",0,true

      oggcounter = oggcounter + 1
    end if
  end if
next

' ## Encode Watermarked files #################################################
Set folder = filesys.GetFolder(source_watermarked_folder & "\.")
Set files_collection = folder.Files
filecount = files_collection.Count

for each file in files_collection
  ' ## Only process WAV files
  filename = file.name
  if lcase(right(filename,4))=".wav" then

    ' ## Set tags based on the filename
    ' ## Source File Name Format: Artist Name_Song Name_Music Genre_Year
    tag_artist = GetParam(filename,0)
    tag_title = tag_watermarked_prefix & GetParam(filename,1)
    tag_genre = GetParam(filename,2)
    tag_year = GetParam(filename,3)

    ' ## Create web friendly name for output file (artist-name-song-name)
    outputfile = WebFriendlyName(GetParam(filename,0) & " - " & _
                                 GetParam(filename,1) ,0,0)

    ' ## MP3 Encoding ---------------------------------------------------------
    ' ## Create option string for MP3 meta tags
    optstr = ""
    optstr = optstr & " --title " & """" & tag_title & """"
    optstr = optstr & " --artist " & """" & tag_artist & """"
    optstr = optstr & " --comment " & """" & tag_comment & """"
    optstr = optstr & " --genre " & """" & tag_genre & """"
    optstr = optstr & " --year " & """" & tag_year & """"
    optstr = optstr & " --album " & """" & tag_album & """"
    optstr = optstr & " --user-url " & """" & tag_url & """"
    optstr = optstr & " --frame TCOM:" & """" & tag_composer_name & """"
    optstr = optstr & " --frame TENC:" & """" & tag_encoder_name & """"
    optstr = optstr & " --frame TPUB:" & """" & tag_publisher_name & """"
    optstr = optstr & " --frame TCOP:" & """" & tag_copyright_name & """"

    ' ## Only encode the MP3 file if it doesn't already exist
    if not filesys.FileExists( destination_mp3_watermarked & "\" & _
                               outputfile & ".mp3" ) then

      wscript.echo "Encoding Watermarked mp3 with a bitrate of " & _
                    mp3_watermarked_bitrate & "kbps: " & vbCrLf & _
                    " " & outputfile & ".mp3" & vbCrLf

      ' ## Use Lame to encode the mp3 file
      wshshell.Run "lame.exe -b " & mp3_watermarked_bitrate & _
                   " -c """ & source_watermarked_folder & "\" & filename & """ " & _
                   """" & destination_mp3_watermarked & "\" & outputfile & _
                   ".mp3""",0,true

      ' ## Use Metamp3 to create the mp3 tag
      wshshell.Run "metamp3.exe " & optstr & " """ & _
                   destination_mp3_watermarked & "\" & outputfile & _
                   ".mp3""",0,true
      mp3counter = mp3counter + 1

    end if

    ' ## OGG Encoding ---------------------------------------------------------
    ' ## Create option string for OGG meta tags
    optstr = ""
    optstr = optstr & " --title " & """" & tag_title & """"
    optstr = optstr & " --artist " & """" & tag_artist & """"
    optstr = optstr & " --comment " & """" & tag_comment & """"
    optstr = optstr & " --genre " & """" & tag_genre & """"
    optstr = optstr & " --year " & """" & tag_year & """"
    optstr = optstr & " --album " & """" & tag_album & """"
    optstr = optstr & " -t URL=" & """" & tag_url & """"
    optstr = optstr & " -t COMPOSER=" & """" & tag_composer_name & """"
    optstr = optstr & " -t PUBLISHER=" & """" & tag_publisher_name & """"
    optstr = optstr & " -t COPYRIGHT=" & """" & tag_copyright_name & """"

    ' ## Only encode the OGG file if it doesn't already exist
    if not filesys.FileExists( destination_ogg_watermarked & "\" &_
                               outputfile & ".ogg" ) then

      wscript.echo "Encoding Watermarked ogg with a bitrate of " & _
                    ogg_watermarked_bitrate & "kbps: " & vbCrLf & _
                    " " & outputfile & ".ogg" & vbCrLf

      ' ## Use Oggenc to encode the ogg file
      wshshell.Run "oggenc.exe -b " & ogg_watermarked_bitrate & _
                   " --output=""" & destination_ogg_watermarked & "\" & _
                   outputfile & ".ogg"" """ & source_watermarked_folder & _
                   "\" & filename & """",0,true

      ' ## Use Tag to create the ogg tag
      wshshell.Run "Tag.exe " & optstr & " """ & _
                   destination_ogg_watermarked & _
                   "\" & outputfile & ".ogg""",0,true

      oggcounter = oggcounter + 1
    end if
  end if
next

' ## Finished - echo how many files were encoded
if mp3counter + oggcounter = 0 then
  wscript.echo "No files were encoded."
  wscript.echo "If the output files already exist they are not overwritten."
  wscript.echo "Delete them first if you wish re-encode them."
else
  wscript.echo "Encoding script reporting that all is done!"
  wscript.echo mp3counter & " mp3 files and " & oggcounter & " ogg files encoded"
end if

' Supporting function that gets a parameter from a file name using the
' character _ as a delimiter
Function GetParam(thestring, theparam)
  dim returnstring, currentparam
  for i=1 to len(thestring)
    if mid(thestring,i,1) = "_" then
      currentparam=currentparam+1
    else
      if theparam = currentparam then
        returnstring=returnstring + mid(thestring,i,1)
      end if
    end if
  next
  if lcase(right(returnstring,4)) = ".wav" then _
    returnstring=left(returnstring,len(returnstring)-4)
  GetParam = trim(returnstring)
end function

' Ugly supporting function that washes the file name to a "web friendly" file
' name... I would use regexp for this but VBScript is quite limited by default.
Function WebFriendlyName(filename, prefixlength, extlength)
	WebFriendlyName  = lcase(filename)
	WebFriendlyName  = right(WebFriendlyName , len(WebFriendlyName )-prefixlength)
	WebFriendlyName  = left(WebFriendlyName , len(WebFriendlyName )-extlength)
	WebFriendlyName  = replace(WebFriendlyName , " - ", "-")
	WebFriendlyName  = replace(WebFriendlyName , "[", "")
	WebFriendlyName  = replace(WebFriendlyName , "]", "")
	WebFriendlyName  = replace(WebFriendlyName , "(", "")
	WebFriendlyName  = replace(WebFriendlyName , ")", "")
	WebFriendlyName  = replace(WebFriendlyName , ".", "")
	WebFriendlyName  = replace(WebFriendlyName , "    ", " ")
	WebFriendlyName  = replace(WebFriendlyName , "   ", " ")
	WebFriendlyName  = replace(WebFriendlyName , "  ", " ")
	WebFriendlyName  = replace(WebFriendlyName , " ", "-")
End Function

Does this save you a lot of time?

I’ve put hours and hours into creating these scripts and if you find them very useful and they save you a lot of time – please consider buying one of my digital albums at http://music.imphenzia.com/albums.html or make a donation to paypal@imphenzia.com =)

Will be back tonight and I’m eager to write a bit about how certain notes can affect your mood. I plan to dig a bit deeper on that subject on my journey with composing game music.

I’m not sure why I haven’t bought this VST instrument earlier because I remember trying the demo a while back and then I forgot about it for one reason or another. As I was engaged in a forum thread regarding good trance VST instruments at the trance.nu forums I saw it being recommended and I had another download of the demo yesterday and within a few minutes I was back at their web site and purchased it (€170 including VAT). Delivery of the Sylenth1 and license took a few minutes and unfortunately the 64-bit version of the DLL crashes Cubase 5 which is odd because the demo version in 64bit worked fine. I’ll contact their support soon and see if we can resolve the issue. I can still use it by simply installing the 32-bit version for the time being.

To start off with you get a lot of presets (over 1300) with this synth spread across three factory banks to play around with. The quality of presets included is very high with a huge selection of ARP (arpeggiated and gated sounds), leads, basses, pads, sound effects, keys, and some sequences. I found it very entertaining to listening through the presets with some lead and bass lines I created for this purpose.

It may not be the prettiest GUI (graphical user interface) I’ve seen but saying this I must admit that it’s very easy to understand and use. I’m usually a bread and butter type of guy who prefers to use presets and tweak them slightly. With the simple design of Sylenth1, however, I was instantly tempted to start creating my own sounds.

First of all, at the top of the GUI, you’ve got the global ADSR (attack, decay, sustain, release) settings for the instrument along with the sound emitting oscillators where you can set your waveforms, detuning, volume, etc.

Below you have a access to a window to perform stuff like basic I/O operations (load and save) and also enable the different effects that can be applied. The effects allow very easy access to add different forms of 1) Arp (arppegios and trance gates which in effect plays a sequence of notes automatically (ARP) and chops up the instrument by altering volume (gate); 2) distortion (like overdrive, bitcrusher, foldback, etc.); 3) Phaser for a pulsating and sweeping motions; 4) Chorus for added width to the sounds; 5) delay for nice echoing effects; 6) reverb for added atmosphere and spatial sense; and 7) compression to alter the dynamics. What’s powerful about this control window is the simple approach and accessibility to tweak your sounds and this ease of access is what steps up the game for this VST.

In addition to the oscillators and effects you have control over some LFO (low frequency oscillators) that can be used to alter the sound where examples are sweeping the cutoff frequency, altering the volume, and applying phaser or chorus effects.

What does it sound like?
Check out this video tutorial I created on creating trance leads and melodies where I use Sylenth1.

Verdict
Sound: 9/10 (fantastic)
GUI: 7/10 (looks outdated but very easy to use)
Value for Money: 7/10 (nicely priced for what you get)
Purchase Process: 10/10 Quick (I used PayPal and received the software and license in a matter of minutes)

Reference Tracks
* Imphenzia – Aura of the Alien (coming soon – check out this preview clip)

Another two years have past since Illusion was released and I was pleased, and somewhat surprised, as I unexpectedly decided to release “Duplicate My Soul”. I should probably follow traditional marketing strategies and build up a hype well ahead of an album being released but when I have my creative periods I spontaneously do these things. At the same time I’m quite happy not to follow all the rules and I’d rather take the opportunity and take advantage when the spontaneous outbursts pay me a visit.

On the 19th of March 2010 I started working on a new track under the project name “Logic Surface” (I always have random names of my tracks until they are finished and I can name them appropriately depending on their character). I nearly completed the track on the 19th but on saturday 20th March I also managed to complete it fairly early in the day. As I named the track “False Awakening” I started to add tracks released after Illusion into my winamp playlist and as the total duration grew to 1 hour, 11 minutes, and 51 seconds (including 4 bonus tracks) it hit me – it’s time for my next album to be released! By the evening on the 20th “Duplicate My Soul” was released and available for anyone to get as an mp3-album or as a physical album with artwork and the complete works.

So, in addition to creating “False Awakening” what did I do for this release during the 20th March?

Over all I’m very pleased with achieving all of this in one single day from spawning the idea of releasing an album to actually releasing it.

What to expect from Duplicate My Soul
Most of the tracks are of true Imphenzia character with a melodic and uplifting sound. The main 9 tracks are all trance styled with what most probably would refer to as a classic (or retro) styled Trance which was more popular in the late 90s. I haven’t been on for following trends or releasing what is currently hot or not, I’d rather create the type of music I love as there are still quite a few out there who appreciate this style. The one exception is probably track number 9 named “Vapour Trail” which was a very experimental track incidentally enough also casually released in silence on imphenzia.com in retrospect 2 years after it was created =) Following the 9 tracks of trance is the first bonus track “Theme of Decimation X” which was originally created for the intense retro shooter game “Decimation X” by Xona games. It fits the over all mood and is very much in line with my normal music that it qualifies as a bonus track on the album. The last three bonus tracks are chilled out downtempo edits of some of the tracks featured on the album.

The name of the album comes from the first track on the album with the same name. The name was selected for two reasons. First of all it is a tribute to my first child (a son) so it is in a sense duplicating my soul, and secondly because the track and all the music of Imphenzia really does reflect my soul and the music I create.

For those of you who are curious of what type of equipment I used to create the music on this album I use the following:
Computer:
Quad Core Intel 2.4 CPU with 4GB Ram running Windows 7 x64
Master keyboard:
Roland FP-7 (88 keys hammer action) and an Evolution MK-226C
Sound card:
Motherboard’s own soundcard believe it or not (with ASIO4ALL drivers)
Sequencer:
Steinberg Cubase 5
VST instruments:
Mainly native Cubase instruments, reFX Nexus2 (plus expansion packs) and reFX VanGuard (plus expansion packs)

Finishing off this post, here is the promo video for the track featuring clips from the first four tracks and a quick preview of how the artwork was created:

I hope you enjoy this release!

To help promote this track, I’ve put together a preview video that you can watch as well:

The track is available for instant high quality download for those of you who have the Imphenzia All Access download feature enabled – If you don’t then have a look at this feature on the tracks page.

You can also listen to Duplicate My Soul [original] track here:
Hi-fi stream (limited to 2 minutes)
Lo-fi stream of entire song
Hi-fi clip

As I mentioned, the original release is already available and I have also completed 3 additional edits with a fourth one being finalized. Instead of releasing all the edits at once I have to improve my approach to getting the word of Imphenzia spread so I’ve decided to release tracks over time rather than a bunch of them at the same time. I hope to see some more returning visitors this way and it may also hopefully help in terms of promotion as Imphenzia relies solely on Word-of-mouth.

The edits that will follow the original release are: Tranquild Edit, Submerged Edit, Extended Club Edit, and an Imphenzia first with an Acoustic Piano edit. The Tranquil Edit is a 110bpm chilled out version with a melodic relaxed feel featuring a similar intro but a very different beat and a prominent lead with retro styled portamento slides. The Submerged Edit is an “offbeat” with the bass offset to 16th Triplets creating a rhythmic beat that made Hypertraxx very famous (as they filled their album with that style =). The Extended Club Edit does not have the dreamy intro and should be more DJ friendly, it also has a different set of sounds although it sounds very similar to the original. Finally, the piano version is totally different and this new ground for Imphenzia. Even though I play the piano sometimes my piano tracks are rarely released and taking the melodic influences from Duplicate My Soul and creating an acoustic piano track was a lot of fun so if fans like it I will continue to release the odd Piano track as well – we’ll see how it develops once the piano version has been released.

You can preview the versions here: