Ariel Hyatt is the founder of Ariel Publicity & Cyber PR a New York based digital firm that connects artists to blogs, podcasts, Internet radio stations and social media sites. Over the past 12 years her firm has represented over 1,400 musicians of all genres. Teaching and educating musicians is her passion and her philosophy is: combine social networking with Internet marketing to help artists grow their fanbases and increase their income. Several times a year, she leads sold-out workshops to musicians and music industry professionals looking to learn about Web 2.0 and online promotion and marketing. Her bi-weekly ezine and YouTube series “Sound Advice” has over 8,000 musicians and music professionals as subscribers and the list is steadily growing. Ariel has written dozens of articles on how to navigate the “new” music business and her book: Music Success in Nine Weeks is available at Amazon. She is a contributing blogger to New Music Ideas, and Music Think Tank, and she has spoken at countless music conferences over the years including SXSW, FMC, ECMAs & OCFF (Canada), A2A (Amsterdam),CMJ, BMI Music Panel Series, and NARAS. We Are On HYPEBOT: Move Over Billboard: Here Comes Ariel Hyatt And Friends’ “Indie Maximum Exposure List” When I read “BILLBOARD’S 2009 MAXIMUM EXPOSURE LIST” a few weeks ago, I thought The Onion had taken control of the venerable music trade magazine with a satirical piece. “Today the ways artists can promote their music have proliferated so rapidly that it can be hard to keep up with what’s new - what’s actually cutting through the clutter,’ the article began. “It’s in this context that Billboard decided to geek out with 25 promotions and publicity experts across genres and mediums to create the ultimate multimedia metric: Our first Maximum Exposure List.” Sounds fine until you read on and find a list of filled with old school, unachievable and down right “this might actually hurt your career” advice. A small sample: #2: PERFORMANCES ON “THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW” #35: COVER STORY IN ROLLING STONE #71: TOUR SPONSORSHIP WITH LEADING MOBILE CARRIER #89: SONG PLAYED ON ABC’S ‘DANCING WITH THE STARS’ Indie music marketing guru and author Ariel Hyatt (twitter: @cyberpr) of Ariel Publicity also read the same Billboard article; and unlike me, who just found the list sad and amusing, she decided to do something about it. As with all things Ariel, her response, “THE INDIE MAXIMUM EXPOSURE LIST” (A GUIDE FOR THE REST OF US) is filled with realistic and achievable suggestions. It’s also a collaborative effort, bringing in a team of industry experts who are, like Ariel, in the trenches with independent artists every day. She also asked several artists who make a living as musicians to contribute. Her dream team includes Derek Sivers (Sivers.org), Jed Carlson & Lou Plaia (both from Reverb Nation), Tom Silverman (New Music Seminar & Tommy Boy ), Emily White (Whitesmith Entertainment) and musician Jonathan Coulton. The resulting “INDIE MAXIMUM EXPOSURE LIST” is a must read if you’re an artist who wants to move their career forward, someone who works with those artists or even if your a fan who just wants to understand how this whole Music 2.0 thing works. Download the PDF here: http://www.tinyurl.com/indimax