May 14, 2007

By By Antony Bruno, Denver

A day in the life of DIY musician Jonathan Coulton is the subject of this New York Times article. Is he famous? No. But through savvy use of the Internet and an understanding of his fanbase, the artist is making a living.

According to the story, about 3,000 people visit his Web site every day, his more popular songs are downloaded around 500,000 times, and he makes between $3,000 - $5,000 a month.

The secret is not just posting good music and hoping people buy it. Coulton uses the Web to stay in constant contact with his fans, allowing them to create his music videos, promote his concerts and even take fans suggestion on his music-like a wiki A&R of sorts.

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