Still reading lots of articles and blog posts on “the death of the music industry” yada yada which is all very well and good, but don’t really do much for me because the clues on where professional artists are to look for business development in the future aren’t there.
There are so many ideas flying around that musicians need to get real and be pragmatic about what the real basis of their career in music is going to be in the future.
Different strategies are going to work for some artists more than others depending on their personal strengths and connection points with fans and people who support their music, it’s just really important you keep your thinking in regards to future revenue streams fresh but still grounded and real.
There’s enough articles and blog posts out there dealing with where we can expect to not make money - that CD’s and physical content products will continue to decline and online revenues will fail to replace them.
Which means the actual recordings of music are decreasing in value, which suggests the retail of recordings although not likely to disappear, will play a less of a role in music business rather than being it’s bread and butter.
And so there’s even more articles considering what business models and propositions could potentially replace physical content products and then recordings as the primary source of music business income.
Ancillary revenue and the concept of artists opening up more varied forms of income have been discussed on this blog and many others, including the concept of a 360 deal where an artist might share a percentage of income form touring, merch, licensing etc. with their label or financial backers.
But the kind of money generated by that kind of income requires that the band is already recognised and have built a relatively recognisable brand, and that takes investment and support behind the artist.
You can’t plod along independently managing your own promotion forever, that’s why the online music promotion service like what we offer aims to give artists the immediate support they need to bring them closer to income sooner to keep the potential of their music as an enterprise viable.
The problem I see is most of these ideas come back to branding, and this is why music branding and artist branding is becoming more important in the overall business models artists need to be looking at.
Branding is about the musicians relationships with their fans, and revenue happens when branding is successful and a connected and accessible fan base are engaged to support the artist.
Who gets what percentage is irrelevant to creating new products, services and models that actually compel fans to choose to take actions that are profitable for the musicians.
For years big labels built superstar brands to sell records, now the labels are on the decline the old formula wont work because the old mass media channels dont work like they used to and there isn’t the budget to do it.
You are not going to be able to support yourself without a powerful platform and that will cost money and require expert development. So where is that money going to come from?
Now the concept of “breaking” a band is to bring them to the point that they have $50,000 behind them to build a truly professional independent music business.
I can’t say that by paying me US$500 for 3 months, or 6 months or a year will get you internet famous, I’m working on real ways to take ordinary every day musicians to a professional level.
You’ve gotta build your own brand that speaks to your fans. I’m building my brand here on my blog slowly but steadily. I’m speaking to people who read my blog and saying you’ve got to be realistic and prepared - flexible even - in regards to what a new music career looks like now, but at the same time I remain completely committed to the fundamental point of this blog - that you need to do some music business if you want to make music your business.
I’ll never be too explicit on my blog but for those who are following me in the effort to monetize their music, for those who are committed enough to want to generate short term income to finance their continuing music business development and marketing, I am preparing to have methods in place to accommodate.
Do you need online music promotion? We still currently charge US$500 for our 3 month campaigns, while we are preparing to launch a radical new proposition to help artists access funding for their ongoing marketing requirements -
Email: kurbpromo@gmail.com
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