We all know that to get where we need to, everyone needs to chip in and help get the word out. However, if you’re like most of us, now that you’ve taken up the cause you probably don’t know what to with it. Right?
Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Just the fact that you’re willing to take a stand for what you believe in is amazing, and we’re thrilled to have you on board. That said, here’s a list of stuff some of us have already successfully tried out to help you out.

These are basically tips to promote the ILMIBM Foundation and our goals for a better, stronger music industry. We promise they won’t take much time or effort but can make a world of a difference in this fight against piracy. Plus, they’re good for some extra karma points!

And if you find a new way in which you can help, please speak up! Email LMarmy@ilovemusicibuymusic.org and we’ll make sure your own suggestion is added to this useful little guide.

1. Plaster the neighborhood!
C’mon! How hard can it be to print a few flyers? You can put them up at your community center, youth club, school, gym or just leave ‘em on your neighbors’ doorsteps! As long as your local authorities don’t give you a hard time, plaster those things everywhere! Abandoned buildings, posts, trees, bare walls, anything people will see! The great part is the flyers do all the talking, so you don’t have to!

2. Make bogus tracks
You know those songs EVERYONE has? Those songs you know everybody’s going to end up downloading sooner or later, like classic hits or whatever’s hot on the radio right now? Here’s a cool little trick to get downloaders to get the message (and it’s pretty fun too!): record a voice message for all those people downloading music illegally, making sure you mention how what they’re doing is contributing to the downfall of the music industry and depriving artists of their money. Then make the recording available for download on all those peer-to-peer file sharing programs under some popular song’s name (say, Hit Me One More Time, or Like a Virgin) – even one P2P network is OK. Next time anyone downloads your ‘hidden track’, they’ll definitely get a hit!

3. Start flapping!
Blindside your friends. If you don’t usually have people over for tea and crumpets, then take the opportunity to talk about this anywhere you and your friends or classmates and neighbors get together. At a party, after school, between classes, at the gym - basically anyplace you’re not alone! The thing is to get tongues flapping, so make it a regular topic everywhere… get known as that guy/girl who hates piracy! (Just make sure you’re nice – no one reacts well to aggression.)

4. Interact with the wildlife
There’s a species popularly known as the music lover (musicae loverus), whose natural habitat is the recital or concert. It’s the perfect place to jump them and ask them about the music they like (something we love to talk about), whether they download illegally and get them talking about artists. If they haven’t thought about it yet, make them realize that being an artist gets harder every time someone downloads their music for free. It’s an interesting species, known to have a good heart and mind, so they if truly ARE music lovers, you’ll get a good response (just remember to be nice!). Help them join us.

5. Scratch our back, we’ll scratch yours!
Got a blog? Feel like recommending ILMIBM’s page? Do so and we’ll link your site right back. Just email us at ILMarmy@ilovemusicibuymusic.org to let us know. We’ll feature you on our site’s Music Army Wall so you can officially become part of our big family on the web. So talk a little about us, goodness knows how easy typing is.

6. Get the sheep to listen
A few months ago, a supporter decided to get a bunch of people together in the main square of his city. They pranced around with words of protest on signs and ILM on their shirts. We totally approve of publicly manifesting what you think is wrong, so if you feel like doing something like this – NO PROBLEM! You have our permission and approval to use the ILM logo to do stuff like this, but only as long as 1) There are no …incidents –you know what we mean: no monkey business! And 2) You have permission to do so, (in some places, public protests or manifestations require government approval). These are pretty easy requirements, so don’t hesitate to gather friends and neighbors and take to the streets to protest musical injustice! Afterwards, you can send us the pics, videos or any press coverage and we’ll be sure to upload them along with any links you want!

7. Bang, Bang Rosie’s Music Hammer
We’ve met this pretty cool blogger – Rosie Hammer. She has a funny name and is a hard-core anti-piracy crusader. She’s got a music newsblog called Jeronimoos, where she publishes all sorts of deck stuff. She wants us to let you guys know that anyone who wants to rant about piracy or illegal downloading is free to do so on her blog. As long as she can check it, you can send her stuff to upload. Same goes for bands! Any artists or bands who want their name on one more site can send her information or an interview request at towespress@gmail.com.

8. Profiles
Check out our MySpace and facebook profiles! Add us as friends if we haven’t added you (we try to add as many people as we can, but only Santa knows how to get to everyone!). Suggest us to your friends and tell them about us, we want to hear from you!

9. If you know how to get in touch with your local radio station or newspaper, give ‘em a call! Tell them about ILM and artists’ rights and illegal downloading. Chances are, they’ll love hearing from you. The media know how important they are when it comes to informing people, and if they realize you’re talking about a good, honest cause, they probably won’t hesitate to get the word out!

This entry was posted on Friday, October 17th, 2008 at 9:13 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.