May 18th, 2012

How did Amanda Palmer raise over half a million dollars from her fans in under a week?

Well known social media user and musician Amanda Palmer recently started a campaign using Kickstarter. Kickstarter is the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects, allowing fans to help fund artists. She raised over half a million dollars in the first week alone, $100,000 in the first seven hours. Her fans are really, really loyal. Imagine trying to get that from a record company! How did she do it and how can you do the same? Unfortunately it is not easy but here are some ideas:

 

  • Have a great video pitch – This is the first section most people look at on a Kickstarter so you really need something that grabs your fans attention and gets them involved. Be interesting and don’t be afraid to ask for the money and let them know how you’ll be spending it. If you don’t ask you won’t get!
  • The funding is the pay off for years of interaction –  In a recent interview on Techdirt Amanda Palmer said “Every person I talk to at a signing, every exchange I have online (sometimes dozens a day), every random music video or art gallery link sent to me by a fan that I curiously follow, every strange bed I’ve crashed on…all of that real human connecting has led to this moment, where I came back around, asking for direct help with a record”. It’s not about the campaign it’s about the years of touring and interacting with your fanbase, this gives you permission to ask. If you don’t already have a decent, loyal connected fanbase maybe Kickstarter isn’t for you at the moment.
  • Bands who have benefited from labels/marketing/touring tend to do better –  Sad to say but you need a fanbase to make crowd funding work for you and your music. Ex-label bands often seem to do well thanks to the benefits of the marketing spend they have received (Marillion are a classic example of this).  You still need to have some kind of spend on marketing to build that audience, even if you are totally DIY. You can build it gradually and organically but this only really works for niche bands and takes a long time. This way takes years not months.
  • Make the things fans pledge for exciting – The more personalised and individual to your band the better. Think beyond the traditional signed items and offer something truly special. Amanda has a “{BACKER-EXCLUSIVE SIGNED ART BOOK} a copy of the forthcoming heavyweight art book/album companion…SIGNED BY YOURS TRULY, AFP. includes over 70 pieces of artwork created by over 30 artists inspired by songs on the album, along with photographs, writings, lyrics, musings, meet-the-artist bios, and interviews. PLUS digital download of the record & thank-you card.” This is just one of her ideas, she really went the extra mile on this Kickstarter campaign.

Amanda Palmer’s example shows that if you can build a real relationships with your fans they will support you in your creative endeavours. Make sure you are building your audience one person at a time and one day you could be doing the same. It takes a long time but it is worth it.

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September 13th, 2011

Why aren’t fans buying your music?

In the last 5 years it has become really easy to get your music available for sale online via sites like Bandcamp, iTunes, CD Baby and Reverbnation. You no longer need to press up lots of CDs and get a distribution deal or try to get record shops to order your album. The problem with it being easy to get digital distribution is that everyone can then do it. So the market becomes crowded and it is very hard to stand out and get fans to purchase your music. Here are some reasons why fans aren’t buying your music:

  • It’s not good enough – Good doesn’t mean perfectly played. Many great bands aren’t amazing players technically but they create music people love. Sometimes being a flashy player can just end up annoying people. Being good is having music that people like and they connect with. Music that people love enough to give you money for. You need great songs and you need to be different and remarkable if you want to stand out.
  • You are trying to connect with the wrong fans – If you think that you’re a metal band but you look and sound folky then aim at a folk audience. For most bands there is an audience but you need to reach the people that will love your music. Aim your marketing and promotion at a small specific audience and grow your audience from there, then word of mouth will spread your music across the web. If you are not sure who your audience are ask a few friends and fans, ask for specific bands and market your music to fans of that band. It takes years to build a fan base, unless you have the finances for a serious marketing campaign. Build your audience one person at a time then eventually things will happen for you.
  • You are hard selling your music – Spamming people with unsolicited emails and on social media sites just winds your potential fans up. You need permission to be part of your audiences life by letting them discover your music via word of mouth, favourable press and amazing live performances. You need to get fans to point of purchase gradually. Initially let them listen to your music on your website then give them a free download and get them on your mailing list. Once they are on your mailing list offer them more free downloads and the opportunity to watch an online UStream gig or to talk to you on Facebook or Twitter. Once you have this level of engagement with your fans go for the sale by asking the fan if they would to make a purchase. You need to build the relationship over time rather than making everything about selling and making money. Fan relationships are built over time but once you have a loyal fan they could be worth thousands of pounds over the course of years. If you want to make money from music you need to play the long game.
  • Poor web presence –  If no one knows your music is available then it won’t sell. Is it being reviewed by the most influential blogs in your genre? Are you talking to (not spamming) fans on a daily basis on forums and social networks? You need to put the time in online, building relationships with influential people so that they will tell their friends about your music. This is one of the most important things to do,  to build relationships over a long period of time with the most influential people in you genre. It is still all about who you know but at least with the web you can start to build these relationships by emailing bloggers and talking to people on the web.
  • Your image puts off fans – If you’re a punk band but you look like Mumford and Sons or Westlife you have a problem. Like it or not image and first impressions do count in the music industry. Make sure the way you look fits in with the music play.
  • There are no special packages – If you want fans to purchase a limited edition album you need to make it special. A standard CD is not interesting enough, people want something collectable and unique. At least do a numbered, limited edition of the album with extra tracks or an extra disc or special artwork. This rewards your hardcore fan base. Work out all your costings in advance, often by offering a limited version of the album you can pay for costs of the entire duplication run for a CD.
  • It is not well recorded – You need a great sounding record, not something that you have put together at home (unless you have the skills and equipment to make an amazing record at home). If you want to stand out and for people to actually pay for a product you need to invest some time and money in it. Use a professional studio or at least a decent engineer. Get it mastered and make it stand out.
  • You are not promoting it – If you’re not playing live (and listing your gigs on Live Unsigned), getting press, handing out flyers and doing all the good stuff that gets you an audience it is far less likely that people will listen to what you do. You need to put the work in if you want to gain an audience.
  • You are not letting people hear it – 30 second samples are not good enough. You need to let fans hear the whole songs, at least until you have an audience. Give away music in exchange for an email address. Once you have a mailing list you can stay in touch with your most enthusiastic fans. Once you have 2000 people on your mailing list you have far more chance of selling your music, once you have 10,000 or 20,000 you will have a good business. An audience is a collection of individuals, you need to win them over one at a time and treat them with respect.
  • It is not packaged properly – The cover art does matter. If your album has horrible artwork with a Comic Sans typeface it will put fans off. There is a full post about putting together album artwork here.

If you want to know why people aren’t downloading your music think about why you choose to listen to the music you like yourself. How did you discover it? Was it through a random spam message or a recommendation from a trusted friend or blog? We filter our music discovery through the people and media we trust. If you want to make people listen to and purchase you need to make it easy to discover via these trusted channels. As ever, the harder you work the more likely you are to make these connections that will eventually lead to sales.

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June 2nd, 2011

Why now is the best time ever to be a musician

Recently there was a less than well known musician online complaining about how he can’t make a living and no one cares about his music and blaming it on online sharing of music. It is a very bad idea to be seen as negative by your own fans in the first place but it’s also very unlikely that people sharing your music would be having a detrimental effect on your sales if no one has even heard of you. People only share the music they like, if your music is being shared you’ll notice it having other effects like more people coming to gigs, watching your videos and getting more press.

Now is a great time to be a musician because while it’s harder to become a major act you can at least build a small audience online that will support your music. Through word of mouth you can continue to grow your audience, one person at a time. It won’t happen quickly but at least you have more of a chance than when you had to go to record labels before you could even start to distribute your music. In the old music business only a chosen few had the chance to record and make albums but now we are moving to a time when lots of people have a small audience. Here are a few more reasons why now is the best time to be a musician:

Creative freedom – The only people you need worry about are the fans and you no longer need the approval of labels before you can get your music heard. Now the only limit is your musical imagination, you are free to create new music without label pressures.

You have a greater chance of getting paid – The more middle people you remove between you and the fans the more chance you have of getting paid. A typical label royalty is 10-15% (even on a good deal) but with sites like Bandcamp you can keep 85% (minus Paypal fees). So at least you have a chance to get paid. Many record label deals never recoup as recording, marketing and production fees are never repaid and bands never see a penny in royalties. Now you can sell 100 copies of your album and make more than you would if you had sold thousands, you can always reinvest the money in marketing and PR to grow your audience and you can see where every penny is being spent.

Fans can discover and share your music through torrents and social media – as Martin Atkins (former PIL drummer) said “It’s not a problem if 20,000 people ‘illegally’ download your music. It’s a problem if they don’t.”. The hard bit is breaking though the static and getting people to listen, fans posting your music through their social media channels and torrents means you can grow your audience through word of mouth. When you have an audience you can make a living by playing live and selling high value items such as box sets and limited edition items.

Supportive sites for musicians – You can list your gigs on Live Unsigned, post your videos on Youtube, research anything you need to learn on Google and stream your gigs on UStream. These resources are there, you just need to work out how to use them in a way that is best for your band. Each band will do things differently and some sites work better for some bands than others. For example OK Go make amazing videos so their logical focal point is Youtube, but this won’t work for everyone. Play to your strengths as a band. So if you are a great live act make sure you post your gigs on Live Unsigned and then make videos of your performances. Experiment and see what works best for you.

Blogs and podcasts – Bloggers and podcasters are often looking to break new and exciting acts and can through word of mouth really help to build your audience. It is often difficult to get the most popular music blog to write about your band so start small with less popular blogs. There is more information on building a following through blogs here.

Cheap technology – Studio time used to be very expensive but now you can make an album on your computer or even your phone if you know what you are doing. You can design the CD artwork at home on your laptop, burn your own CDs and sell your music online digitally. Technology has liberated musicians, now the only thing holding you back is the technical skills which you can learn or pay for professional help with, but at least you have the choice now. It’s getting easier all the time.

Access to the industry – The days when artists had to go to labels and beg to get signed are long gone. Now artists can build an online audience to the point where labels can find them. If you lived in the middle of nowhere 20 years ago it was very difficult to build a following but now wherever you are if you work hard enough and have great music you can build an audience.

The only problem is that everyone has access to the same tools and only those who are truly great musicians with an amazing live act who work incredibly hard will make it. A lucky break like a film soundtrack can make all the difference but you still need to be able to back it up with quality music and a strong work ethic. The challenge is to break through the static by being truly exceptional and whether you’re The Damned, Iron Maiden or Lady Gaga only the strongest, most hard working and remarkable acts will survive.

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March 18th, 2011

Hip hop marketing ideas for artists…..(Part 1)

Hip Hop artists have long been ahead of the game in terms of personal branding and using the internet to build an audience.

Picture by Paul Linus Claassen

Whether you are a Producer, Singer or MC now is a great time to build an audience, here are a few ideas to make it happen, if you are prepared to put the work in:

  • Be remarkable, brilliant, original and controversial. No one wants to hear a song called “In the hood” again, you need to innovate and come up with great tracks. Being original, honest and better than anyone else will get people talking. Often being controversial will also start people talking, but how much you want to do this is up to you. If its not honest and part of who you really are don’t be controversial for the sake of it. Authenticity is more important, fans can see through someone who is fake, you can’t keep up an act forever.
  • Offer to remix or collaborate. If you meet an artist you like online let them know you like their work via email and offer to collaborate or remix their tracks. Don’t send them a standard email, make it honest, personal and real and make sure the people you are going to work with are going to make you seem more credible, not less.  Working with other artists gives you a chance to expose your talents to their audience. Also look out for remix competitions, a really good opportunity for producers to showcase their work.
  • If you want it to go viral with a video get an emotional response. Viral video is really useful if you can make it happen but its hard to do. What makes things go viral is getting an emotional response. You have to make people laugh, cry, happy or freak them out with something weird if you want them to share or re-tweet your video. If you can do that you’re half way there. This is how videos get thousands of hits a day, do something remarkable.
  • Give away your music and make the money in other places. Let people download your tracks in exchange for an email address (perhaps via Bandcamp). Once you have an audience you can start to make money by selling music, merchandise, live performances and endorsing products. Even 50 Cent advises on shares and has his own brand of bottled water called Formula 50.  Its not a business until you have an audience.
  • Use the latest technology. Snoop Dogg uses Ustream, playing tunes and talking to fans. Use Mashable and Techdirt to stay up to date on the latest social media trends, often the first people to use new technology get the best results. Remember to post your live shows on Live Unsigned.
  • Use Twitter and social media to engage with people. Follow a few people on twitter and build a relationship with them, don’t talk about yourself all the time. Talk about funny stuff, what you care about and be honest and real. Ask your fans questions on Twitter and reply to what they say. Reply to all @ messages and listen what others are saying and reply to them. If Kanye and 50 Cent have time to use Twitter so do you. Look for inspiration on how to use Twitter by following your favourite artists, there is a more in depth article on Twitter here.
  • Set daily tasking and long term goals. Do something to grow your fan base every day. You can use our check list here. By setting goals for your music career you have far more chance of making things happen.

In part 2 of this post we will look at mixtapes, sponsorship, street teams and more.

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January 11th, 2011

How to get a (better) record deal – part 1

Although it is possible to do really well completely independently some people still want a record deal, some see it as a form of validation. Some artists only want to concentrate on the music and let the label handle the business (although I’d argue that its easier to concentrate on the music if you have control of your own career). Signing to a label isn’t about forgetting about the business side of things – its the start. Labels expect you to work hard promoting your product and can often fail to do the same for you. Its not ever going to be that easy.

Not all labels are bad and some really skilled, talented people work for them. They can be good at raising your profile (if they have a good marketing department) although you can end up being worse off financially. As an indie artist you can hire the same services as a record company can provide and retain control of your work. Its up to you to decide if the label are worth the 85% or even 90% of the money that they will take. Getting paid takes longer as well and if you’re not being paid correctly auditing a label is very difficult. Deals vary from label to label so its hard to say what you will be offered but make sure you get a music industry lawyer to review anything before you sign it.

Steve Albini wrote a great article for the US punk magazine Maximum Rock N Roll about labels that every musician should read. It shows how for a $250,000 deal the band end up with $4,031.25 each after netting the label $710,000!!! Be careful what you sign, there are a lot of great people who work for labels who are passionate about music but go in with your eyes open.

Most listeners don’t care if music is by an unsigned artist or from a label, if they buy it from iTunes they often can’t tell anyway. When I see the phrase “looking for label interest” or “currently shopping for a deal” show up on a band profile you know the band don’t have a fan base – labels are not going to do the work for you, there often isn’t the marketing or PR money available to make that happen. Most labels are not going to be interested in bands that don’t have an audience.

Don’t send off CD’s to the A&R department of record labels – this won’t work and makes you look desperate, very rarely bands are signed off demos. Bands are signed off “buzz” – magazine articles, blog posts, social media, amazing live shows, who you know and if you are already selling lots of music. If you have sold 2000 plus downloads/CD’s and are playing sold out shows at decent venues you have proved yourself as a potentially commercial artist. Having a mailing list of a few thousand and a proven sales record are very useful when dealing with record companies. Buzz and good contacts plus sales and a decent size email list will get labels to take you seriously and give you a chance to negotiate a decent deal and be a priority for a label.

Building a network of contacts and fans is the key. The music industry is all about who you know and the relationships you have built. This is the point where labels should start coming to you, as any label worth dealing with will have people watching for buzz on new bands. It may even be possible to start a bidding war between rival labels if they are seriously interested.  Often the deals they offer will involve a low royalty and losing control over your masters (even if you pay for them!!) and creative control. Many small labels don’t pay an advance and expect the band to front recording costs themselves (even some of the bigger indies do this). Some small labels are run by one person in their spare time so there is only so much time and money they can put in.

In the second part of this post we will go through a list of things to check before you sign to a label.

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October 20th, 2010

How to use free music to grow your fanbase

One of the key things for bands in the early stages of their career is to develop an audience. Giving away some free music is a great way to connect with people and develop a relationship. For some bands giving away music that they have taken time and money to write and produce is a difficult concept. Free music can be looked at as free advertising.

free music

Picture by Paul Linus Claassen

We live in an age where there are many demands on our time, to even get people listening to your music is a good result. As CD Baby founder Derek Sivers said:

“Obscurity is the enemy, not piracy”

Recently I saw a new band who were providing only 30 second snippets of songs online, because of fear of piracy! If you were signed to a major label wouldn’t they give away lots of promotional music (that you’d ultimately pay for out of royalties/your advance)? How much would advertising cost to get the equivalent amount of email addresses you can get in exchange for free music? You need to think of giving away music as a worthwhile investment in your long term career. Building a loyal fan base is a long process, if you are looking to make money quickly you are in the wrong industry. The advantage of this method is that if you gain an audience this way, they are more likely to be with you for years.

Some bands let fans torrent music, some let them record and swop live bootlegs (as long as its non commercial), some even give all the music away free and make a living from playing live. People sharing your music can quickly grow your fan base and if you have any level of success people will most likely torrent your music anyway. To some bands having an audience is enough. The amount of free music you want to give away is up to you (and for some people its not for them, perhaps if they want to be a very high ticket act selling high price goods to a tiny audience). Always try to get an email address in exchange for the free download, Bandcamp does an excellent service where you can let fans download free music in exchange for an email. Tweet For A Track lets you give away your music in exchange for the fan posting on Twitter, really useful if the person has 20,000 followers.

The value of an email address that you collect in exchange for your music depends on the fan. Some people aren’t going to ever spend any money with you, some will become hardcore fans. Hardcore fans are worth hundreds if not thousands. These are people who will buy everything you do (T-Shirts, Gigs, Vinyl, Box Sets etc) and tell their friends and drag them along to the concert. They can make your career, provide you with a growing audience and a living.

The amount you give away is up to you. Pay what you want is a model used by many artists, often people will get one album then come back and pay for another album by the same band. Getting the email address and starting an ongoing conversation is the key. Some people give away an MP3 and charge for a high quality download, or box set (like Radiohead), or signed item or live concert. Chris Anderson (author of Free:The Future Of A Radical Price) made his book available as a free audio download then charged for a physical book and speaking appearances. You could even do free UStream concerts and charge for bootlegs of them. Try charging for music and giving away a free PDF download of guitar TAB or recipes. The way you use free content in building an audience is up to you, be creative.

No one is saying just give things away and don’t get anything back, use free to gain attention and open channels of communication, then you can think about making money. Its very hard to make money from an audience you don’t have.

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