Day 1 of the New Music Seminar - The Next Music Business Unveiled

Gwen Lipsky spoke about how she previously held a marketing job where the company used a whole bunch of marketing strategies that she realized were similar to how music is marketed. She presented this list:

Outlining your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats and actually writing them down will give you a better idea of where you stand.

Example: Strengths: You've got a whole bunch of music to release Threats: The bar that you've played at every Thursday for the past 3 years is closing

Know the people who are going to be buying your music, coming to your shows or spreading the word about your new album. What do you know about them? Are they fans of live music? Or do they follow an underground scene. Find out what else they like to listen to, what they do on the weekends, etc. Learn as much as you can about them and then you can realize what they want from YOU.

Once you know who your fans are you need to start thinking about building your fan base. Who are the natural next people that might be interested? Do you play with a band once a month that has a similar sound? How can you reach out to their fan base?

If you're a leader of a scene in a particular town (or area) it directly benefits you to grow that scene. By getting more people into that particular scene and "shining the light onto others" - in other words promoting other musicians that are a part of the scene - you will be getting more people into the scene that you belong too. 

Look outside your particular category. Find other artists that are willing to work with you in a way that is mutually beneficial and doesn't necessarily result in direct competition. Whether it's sharing each others links or telling their fans to check out your band on their night off this week (and you reciprocate), you can benefit from their influence amongst their fan base and potentially make some good friends (and connections) in the future.

Give something away for free. If you're not sold on the idea of giving away your music, give one track or a three track sampler away for free. Before attempting to sell an album give them a few tracks to see if they even like it. Take away the uncertainty that makes most people hesitate when it comes to deciding whether or not to spend money

Up the ante each time you want a user to engage with your brand. Every time a fan interacts they will do something more. The more involved you get your fans the more involved they will want to be.

Basically, in non-music terminology this means to expand your business. Instead of just playing at bars every night could you also create customized songs for people to give as gifts?

Connect with fans in between the times you're selling your product. If you're not going to be touring for two years you need to remain connected with your fans in that two year span otherwise chances are they won't come out to your next tour. 

This brings us back to the idea that 10% of fans create 90% of your revenue. The more engagement you get from that 10%, the more money you can make as an artist, whether it's money you live off of or money that goes towards creating the next thing for those fans to buy, either way you'll be able to advance your music career and provide more for these diehard fans.