subject: Promoting Music For Independent Musicians [print this page] In the good old days, the days before the Internet, bands and musicians would get signed to a label often, the bigger the better and in return for their signature, they would be allowed to focus on making and playing music while "the company" looked after buisness. Though being a band or musician was and is still mostly about the music, particularly in "performing it", the entire music business model started with the album. The videos, the radio airplay, print reviews, and the tours.
With the onset of the internet, broadband, P2P and CD copying, "social sharing of music" became endemic and a logical consequence of the market, and "selling CDs" become more and more difficult and it was not long before labels could no longer generate enough CD revenue to keep the machine rolling. Without the CD revenue to finance the promotion the videos, the radio promotion, PR campagins not only did CD sales keep dropping, but ultimately, the ability to build artists and hence, even tours suffered.
By 2011, CD sales were 50 70% lower than they were in 2000 and the only way labels could stay in buisness was by focussing on hyped artists or those who had a proven track history of sales.
The CD based "artist business model" had begun to fall apart.
The internet is called a "distruptive technology", a technology that offers such an attractive alternative to the status quo that it can challenge the very existance of entire industries employing millions of people. And history is full of such examples: "digital photography vs analogue Promoting music for independent musiciansfilm": remember those rolls of Fuji, Kodak, AGFA film in 100, 200 or 400 ASA in colour or B&W? Or Radio which made music free to anyone with a transistor radio in the 1930s putting half the workforce in the recording business out of work.
This is only half the story becauPromoting music for independent musiciansse the reason the interent, digital photogrPromoting music for independent musiciansaphy or the radio caused such an upheaval was because it offered something significantly more attractive perhaps better, faster, mIn the good old days, the days before the Internet, bands and musicians would get signed to a label often, the bigger the better and in return for their signature, they would be allowed to focus on making and playing music while "the company" looked after buisness.ore convenient, cheaper or even all of the above than the current technology.
The internet has allowed fans access to more music cheaper, quicker and better than ever before in history, and even though this has caused massive problems, musicians have access to their fans quicker, faster and cheaper than ever before as well. They can distribute their music directly online cheaper, faster and wider than ever. They pay just a small commission with Online distributors(15%) compared to 50 85% with labels. And they have direct access to their fans and the savvy artist with 5000, 10,000 or 50,000 facebook faIn the good old days, the days before the Internet, bands and musicians would get signed to a label often, the bigger the better and in return for their signature, they would be allowed to focus on making and playing music while "the company" looked after buisness.ns can reach out to its fans. It owns these relationships and with one click of a button, can:
keep them up-to-date with their activities.
invite its fans to a concert.
sell their latest release.Promoting music for independent musicians
ask for contributions.Promoting music for independent musicians
The new music business is no longer about making money from selling recordings. Fans have more disposable inPromoting music for independent musicianscome than ever but they're just not willing to spend it on a CD. The new music business is about FAN MANAGEMENT: building a fanbase, keeping them close, managing it, making money from it.
Promoting music for independent musicians
Musicians still need things like Digital music distribution to get their music out there but they won't need to pay a company (a label) to do it anymore because they can do it themselves.
