In the last edition of Internet Promotion 101 I griped about the fact that bands don’t take the simplest of steps to inform their potential audience that their latest album even exists, much less provide a way to obtain it. Enter Bandcamp; a free service for bands to distribute / sell their music digitally and with no hassle. Granted, if you are the kind of band that can’t even take the time out of your day to post the tracklisting of your latest album / EP you probably aren’t going to be uploading uncompressed audio files to a progressive thinking digital distribution service but you should be.

Assuming that the band in question isn’t completely Internet ignorant there is little case to be made for not using Bandcamp as one option for distribution. They provide an easy to use system with tons of options for allowing free download, fixed paid download, variable payment download or email address for music exchange. Add to that the fact that you get actual metrics on the number of plays, embeds and downloads of every track you offer – a fact that MySpace, iTunes, Amazon MP3 or any other digital distributor do not offer – and it’s a no brainer.

If you haven’t noticed, a number of local artists are starting to use it, you may want to consider doing so as well.

It should be noted that Amie Street is probably the closest and best competitor for BandCamp but does not offer an embeddable streaming previewer, a tiny aspect of Bandcamp that makes proliferating the music just that much easier.

Looks like Ocelots have joined the rank and file of bands that understand that getting your music heard is often more important than selling 3 copies at a show. They have put all three of their albums up on Bandcamp, entirely for free. So, go hit up their archives and let the downloading begin. I suggest starting with the latest, The Cellar & the Ghost Have Let Us Down, as that will give you access to “This Elephants Not Thirsty, It’s on Fire” in the quickest way possible.

Heads up via The Cream.

The “Perfect Strangers” series of EP releases from Jensen Sportag continues today with the release of Jackie. You can buy the album here or just preview it here. It’s the best $8.91 you’ll spend this week.

Thanks to Nashville Cream for the heads up on the first webisode of the El Rick Haun story. I’ve often enjoyed his jangly pop songs with absurd and epic subject matter but never known the true story of his origins. I have a feeling there’s a rough road ahead for him.

→ El Rick Haun – Tiddlytinks

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Despite already having a successful blog at Out the Other, local stalwart Janet Timmons has taken it upon herself to start another blog called Elliston and Eighth with the sole purpose of exposing Tumblr users to the wealth of great local music that Nashville has to offer. This is, obviously, a task that we can get behind and support wholeheartedly. I suggest all with Tumblr accounts start following her immediately and everyone else do themselves a favor and bookmark it now.

We told you that And The Relatives would be posting demo’s for their forthcoming LP on a semi-regular basis and I am happy to report that they’re making good on that. “Not The Passion” has been added to their site and serves as a great way to start off the work week.