10/21/2015
"How do you make a living in the music business when it's so easy to get free music?"
Well, how does the bottled water company compete with the faucet?
This got me thinking and I've narrowed it down to two things. Content and availability.
I think that we've all got this "over saturation" mentality where we think we should put as much content as possible out there. All over YouTube and all the social media sites. For some reason we've been conditioned that "likes"and"views" measure our success. Yes, you can make money and get noticed if your videos go viral. BUT no one has ever "made it" by posting a lyric video or a low quality phone video of their last gig. It's great to help build a fan base. Which is great if that fan base comes to your shows and buys your merch, music etc. But we all know that we can post a video or event and get 1000 likes but still only have 10 people at our show that weekend.
Content: make sure your recordings and videos are the highest quality you can afford and don't skimp. And make sure you have a brand that is represented throughout everything you do. Let your fans post the iPhone videos and make sure they tag you.
Availability: This is a biggie. CONTROL YOUR CONTENT. Don't just throw it out there because your excited. Only post it on your website and then use social media to direct fans there.
Make teasers and promos and post them till your little heart's content but make it as hard as possible for people to steal your music. I'm not saying you shouldn't give music away. But you want them to come to you for it. Not just rip it from YouTube. The key to building a solid fan base is engagement. If they feel like they're a part of something. They'll follow you forever and promote you to anyone who will listen. Which will lead to bigger shows and the money will follow. Money should never be the motivation for art. But it does allow the freedom to create it on your own terms. good starting point for conversation and debate. And maybe we can back to where "making it" meant something.
