- by Jim Ankan Deka
There was a time when people would give their entire savings to get featured by MTV and yet, it never came easy. Only the most talented and lucky ones could get a chance to be associated with mighty MTV. After the ripsnorting growth of internet, probably MTV thought that it will be a good idea to do things little different. And definitely, that's a great news for the musicians across the world.
Those who already know about ArtistLink this write-up is not for you, but for the musicians who are longing to get focused and some respect from fellow musicians and fans. It ain't too bad to have your name listed on MTV website as an artist, is it?

Do you want to get your music on TV? Do you want more fans/listeners? Do you want to make money? Here is what MTV has to say about this to new as well as renowned musicians, "Our brands were built off the power of music and now we've built a platform that puts the power in the hands of artists. The doors into MTV, VH1, and CMT have never been more open — so what are you waiting for?"

Now, what is this platform that MTV is talking about? - ArtistLink.com! ArtistLink is the platform through which a musician can share her/his music on the MTV site - www.artists.mtv.com. (Click Here to check a MTV artist page). MTV has partnered with Topspin (a company that helps musicians and filmmakers grow their audience and sell their work) to bring MTV close to the musicians. By creating an account with Topspin GoDirect, a page is automatically created for you at artists.MTV, VH1 or CMT based on your genre. If a page already exists you have the option to claim that page as your own.

Lets see the benefits of the MTV artist page -
  • Get Fans - MTV's television, editorial, and social networks drive millions of fans to the artist pages. You can grow your fanbase by putting your content where music fans already are.
  • Get On TV - Wanna see your video on TV? Got a track you want to premiere? Have a song perfect to soundtrack one of our shows? Your page is the official gateway to make that happen.
  • Make Money - Use your artist banner to send your fans wherever you make money. And soon, you’ll be able to drive transactions right on your page: Collect tips, sell merch, tickets, and access powerful analytics.

This looks easy? Well, one way it is. All you have to do is go to artistlink.com and claim your name if it is already listed. If not, you can create your profile and MTV will plug you into their network of artists and music fans. Once you are done creating your profile, you can upload music, videos and images/photos and start sharing the page with your friends and fans. You will also have the ability to add a custom banner on your page through which you can use to drive traffic to wherever you want (may be your website or Facebook page).

In fact MTV is bringing a new feature through which you can sell your albums Direct-to-Fan, right on your page. Don't forget to share couple of free tracks for people to listen to and download your music first. You can monetize the rest if you want. What's more? You can give away tracks, albums, or videos in exchange for a fans email address, Twitter 'follow' or even Facebook 'like'. If you're a YouTube Partner, you can promote your ArtistLink offers right from your YouTube videos using YouTube's Merch Store Annotations. Learn more about Artists.MTV here.

You can have two types of profiles - basic and premium. Basic is free and for a premium profile you have to pay $10 per month.

But does this get your music on MTV or VH1 channels immediately so that your family members can brag about it to the neighbors? A big NO. Does this mean MTV has been pretending with an intention to deceive? No. Why don't you find out by yourself how to get your music on MTV and VH1! All the best!