In this changing musical landscape, never has there been a more critical time for musical artists to make a direct connection with their audience. This is especially true for DIY artists, but you also see bigger name acts moving this direction as well. This is one reason why social networks like Facebook and Twitter are becoming so much a part of the marketing strategy for bands.
Here’s something for you to think about:
Musicians who keep their options open, have more options.
One thing I’ve noticed in musicians and artists who are just getting started is that they tend to be a bit narrow-minded about what it is they think they want to do. I recognize this trait, because as a young musician I was the worst. I had a mindset about who I thought I was, and what I wanted to be, and anything that didn’t easily fit into that narrow stream of thought was immediately filtered out. As a result, I robbed myself of a lot of musical opportunities and experiences that might have been very beneficial to me.
For independent, DIY musicians, networking is a huge chunk of the business end of your music career. It’s a part of self-promotion, part of getting the word out there about who you are. Plus, in our changing culture, nowadays most things we need to get done are going to get done through our relationships–the people we know, the people with whom we’ve developed a connection. With the music biz, especially, it’s always been a “who you know” rather than “what you know” kind of industry. So I don’t think anyone with any sense would dispute the need for networking in this business. You need to get connected to all kinds of people–not just to your fans, but to other artists, to venues, to agents, to photographers, to recording engineers, to radio people, and many others.
Do I have your attention? Ahem.
With the current state of the music business in so much upheaval, and with the advent of digital technology and social networking enabling the number of DIY and indie musicians to mushroom in recent years, the path to musical success has seemingly become a bit clouded. There are lots of people giving advice, lots of blogs like this one discussing the issues, even an increasing number of colleges offering courses on the music biz–all trying to clear the pathway, so to speak. Lots of voices out there spitting out information, but nobody really seems to know for sure where this is going, or what to do about it.
For all the singer/songwriters out there–this one’s for you. 
Face it: as musicians, we want to get noticed–it sort of goes with the territory. But even more than that, we want to stand out. For singer/songwriters, especially, that means we want to write songs that stand out–songs that are unique, songs that make a mark. We think about the brilliant artists that have come before us and influenced us, and we want to be that artist that one day influences the direction of music–the artist that others claim as an influence.
Not a bad thing to want, really.
Music piracy has been the topic of much discussion in the past number of years. It’s been somewhat of an issue ever since we had the ability to record our vinyl records onto blank cassettes (remember those?), but it’s really come to the forefront with the advent of digital music. It’s just so easy now to make and share mp3 files, and people do it without even thinking about it. Even “nice” people who aren’t trying to be pirates. Someone once estimated that for every legal music download that occurs, there are at least six illegal downloads–and many think that is a conservative estimate.
In my experience, I’ve not known many professional musicians who actually like the business side of music. They’d rather just write, play and perform, and not worry about dollars and cents, contractual agreements, or anything else having to do with the music biz. They’d rather someone else take care of these details. But ignorance is not bliss; ignorance is ignorance. And ignorance will cost you dearly in the long term. If you want to play for anyone else besides the walls of your garage, you need to educate yourself about the music business, if for no other reason than your own protection.
The business side of music is difficult for most musical and artistic types, because rejection is just part of the game. One thing that makes us good artists is that we have a sensitive side, one that cringes at the thought of getting rejected. And yet, whether you’re putting your stuff out there to agents, or venues, or record companies, or the press, or blogs, it’s a numbers game, and your band is going to be passed on by some people. No one’s immune. Decca Records even passed on The Beatles, saying that “the Beatles have no future in show business.” (Stupid Decca Records–but still.)
One of the cold, hard facts about the music biz is that no matter how good a musical artist you are, having a successful public career is not just about your music, but also about your public image–your brand. In other words–how you are perceived by the public.
I’m not talking about getting all phobic about what people think of you (most of us do that pretty naturally on our own, thankyouverymuch). What I mean is that a public performer has a public image, a persona associated with his/her music. That, in essence, is part of your brand as an artist–and getting your music “out there” also involves getting your brand “out there.” So let’s talk about some basics to get an understanding of image and branding.
I don’t know about you, but in my background, the term “self-promotion” was kind of like a four-letter word. Except with 13 letters. And a hyphen.
Really, promotion wasn’t a bad thing. It was the “self” in front of it that made it a four-letter word. It just seems distasteful to blow one’s own horn. Better to have someone else do it for you…right?
But here’s the thing. In the indie music business, especially starting out in it, nobody knows who you are–and hiring someone to promote you is usually out of the question. So if you don’t tell people who you are–who else will?
