Musicadium Blog

In my job here at Musicadium, I do a lot of reading.  I read blogs, news articles, forums and constantly troll through MySpace, Facebook and Twitter updates, examining what is going on in the Music Industry.  I am constantly looking at what is working and not working for artists, in terms of creating a buzz about themselves.

If you are thinking about your band as your brand and business, then obviously your goal is monetising what you do, so as to provide (some) income.

Traditionally, CD Sales (and the old school emphasis on “Units shifted”) have been the big revenue generator for bands.

As sales of physical products slow considerably and the industry is in turmoil about which way it will turn next (digital all you can eat plans for consumers, 360-degree record deals for artists etc), do you really want to be left behind?

Using your MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, ReverbNation, Sonicbids accounts are given, having digital distribution to add to your physical CD income, but it’s HOW you use them that is important.

Understanding that there are numerous ways to earn money in the music industry is key to your sustainability.

There are recent examples of Groove Armada, in their partnership with Bacardi, The John Steel Singers with their partnership with Levi Jeans’ Levity Label.

Groove Armada and Bacardi’s relationship was to release an EP.  Not so radical.  However, they were releasing some tracks initially, in exchange for an e-mail address, with the added incentive that if they were to recommend it to friends they would receive more tracks and if they then recommended to others, the first user would receive even more and so on and so forth down the line.  Read about the partnership here. This then positions both Groove Armada and Bacardi with a large fanbase and the opportunity to market to a targeted group of people, who will purchase other products, such as merchandise, concert tickets and drinks at said concert.

To quote Nick Crocker’s Way Cool Jnr blog, “The future of music lies in finding new ways to monetise the relationship between the band and the fan…In the digital realm, the relationship between the artist and the fan can be tracked, monitored, maintained and enhanced.”

Honesty in blogging by a band helps incredibly - answering fan emails and MySpace messages personally.  Blogging about other bands and things other than music helps to humanise the band and tear down the glaring impersonality of the internet.  Do this well and no doubt others will begin blogging about you.  Blogging and being blogged about raises interest and buzz about your band, as well as creating that vital link to your fans.  If they like your music, chances are they will like your suggestions for new music or what they are listening to as well.

Basically, more and more music will become free or near-to-free.  As this happens, it may become an addition to the live show, such as including a free CD in the ticket price to a gig or simply traded for an email address or other piece of information.

There is no time like the present to jump on board with new models of selling your music.

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 at 4:50 pm and is filed under General, Marketing & Promotions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.