Promoting Music Online
The Internet has had a series of beneficial effects for musicians - especially for unsigned artists that looking for a break. It has, for example, made it easier for singers and for bands to get their music to their fans, to build publicity and to get to the attention of record companies when they want a deal. The fact is that you can promote your music online both with and without a record deal.
Your options here are basically to build your own website or to use other websites to promote your music online. If you want to be really effective here, of course, then you will use both methods to get the optimum results.
Using your own website
Singers and bands can build their own websites which can be used in various ways to promote their music. So, you could, for example, post up MP3 tracks that your listeners can listen to or download for free. You can also sell your albums or singles and even merchandise online. Websites are also a great promotional tool so you need to make sure that your site tells your fans something (so they keep coming back). So, for example, make sure to list gig dates and news.
The more interesting you make the site the more likely it will be that fans will use it regularly and will tell their friends about it. And, the more popular it is the more likely it will be that record companies notice it (and you). Blogs are often a good way of bringing back regular visitors. Make sure to advertise your website whenever you can - i.e. on gig posters and flyers. Buying a simple to remember domain name can also make it a lot easier to bring people to your site.
Using external websites
A lot of singers/bands will also use other websites to promote themselves and their music. There are plenty of sites out there that will allow unsigned bands to post up music tracks either for listening to or for download. They will also often let you put in a link to your own website and to put in current information/gig dates that can be useful. Don't limit yourself to one site here - find as many as you can that promote your kind of music and try to get a presence on them.
You can also use other people's sites, web-rings, blogs, message boards, communities and e-zines to advertise your music. Don't over promote yourself or your band here as people will turn off as you'll look pushy. Simply putting your band name/web site address in your user name may encourage people to take a further look.