Confessions of an Indie A&R

Google Inc. and Universal Music Group are in talks to enter a partnership that would create a new music video hub powered by YouTube, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal .

Under the partnership, Universal would use YouTube technology and ad sales to distribute content around the Web.

The hub, which has the working title “Vivo” according to the Journal, would allow Mountain View-based Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) to sell higher priced ads around the professional music videos. There’s no word on whether the other major music companies are also in talks with Google.

If hub gets support from Universal and the other labels, it would mirror MySpace Music, a Los Angeles-based joint venture between MySpace and the four major music labels — Universal, Warner, Sony Music Entertainment and EMI Group — which launched last year.

MySpace Music allows users to stream songs for free. The labels and MySpace share the ad revenue from the site.

Universal Music is a subsidiary of Vivendi and has headquarters in Santa Monica and New York.

— As reported by the Los Angeles Business journal

It’s time for you to get serious about selling your product. The same way you created a music Myspace site for fans to preview your music – you need to build your presence in the digital space for fans to purchase your music. Continuing our theme of ways to reaching & marketing more fans, let’s explore the easiest option for you to sell albums – Digital Distribution. This feat is easier than most might expect. In fact, with the increase in numbers different digital distributor companies, it’s not only easy but extremely cost effective. With a great digital deal you’re able to get your albums on iTunes, Amazon.com, eMusic, Rhapsody, and Snocap. There’s a possibility for your music to reach the mobile market as well (Verizon, Sprint, etc.). Here are a few names to jump start your research —

CD Baby is still the industry heavyweight, now more so than ever with their recent Disc Makers backing. With the CD Baby service you are afforded all the perks of the digi deal as well as having all your physical cds sold. This way the pressed copies of your album won’t have to go to waste. A fee of $35 for each album you’d like to sell (digital or physical) and a 9% fee for each song downloaded.

TuneCore is a good CD Baby alternative. Although TuneCore can’t help you move the physical copies of your album, their 100% digital service is one of the more economical choices. Their best feature is the option to choose the outlets you would like to distribute to. TuneCore charges $0.99 per track, $0.99 per store per album, and $19.98 per album per year storage and maintenance. Or, just put up one song as a single for a flat price of $9.99 per year, all stores included.

The newest player is, the still in beta, RouteNote. Professing to be the most inexpensive way to reach a worldwide audience, RouteNote is the independent distributor to the independents. Their greatest attribute is the fact that “everything is free until you sell your first track, at which point they’ll take only 10% of the revenue that comes back.” In efforts of building interest and clients the company has gone so far as to complete a comparisson chart explaining why you should choose their service above all the rest. See it here.

Regardless of your choice in digital distributor, remember as with everything else it’s your responsibility to promote your music. The services I’ve explained are just offer an easier way for your fans to support your efforts.