Are You REALLY in the Music Business?

Just got off the phone with a friend of mine.  He's been self-employed for a number of years.  He's also a guitar player.

He said something I thought was interesting...

"There is a big difference between playing guitar and playing Guitar Hero."

Duh, right?

You know that, because you're a musician, but I've seen a few kids get the two mixed up.  But, believe it or not, I've seen even more musicians and "business owners" get their situations mixed up...  I'm talking about adults who should know better!

To build on a quote from my friend...  "There is a big difference between being in the music business and pretending to be in the music business."

Those who are really in the music business treat things a different way than those who just pretend to be in it.  They show up for gigs on time, because they know it's important and has a big impact on whether or not they'll get paid.  They promote their gigs, are nice to club owners, sell from the stage, and take advantage of merchandising for the same reason.

This isn't about record deals, fancy clothes, a new van to tour in, brand new equipment, or similar things, which so many musicians get lost in...unless you're actually making money with those things.  Being in the music business is about looking at how you're handling your career, treating your music like the job it is, and asking yourself, "Am I building something by doing this or just doing what I think 'being in the music business' means?"

Just some random, late-night thoughts on differences in the people I come in contact with via email, phone, or in person...  I hope that, if there are some things which need to be tweaked to help you with your long-term music business goals, you'll take an opportunity to do that.

What can you do to bring in more people to shows?

What can you do to maximize music and merch sales?

What can you do to bring in more traffic to your web site?

What can you do to make sure more people hear your music?

These are a few questions you should ask yourself.  Have others?  Post them below.

Want to talk more?  I do a live podcast every Wednesday at 9pm Eastern.  (347) 637-2654 is the number to call me.  Or, if you can't wait, follow me on Twitter and ask your questions there.

Comments

[Steven Wylie]

Really good thoughts man. I will be holding up the mirror to myself with those questions in mind. Thanks.

[Rachel Pearl]

I wish that more people saw it as their job.
I am always disappointed when I do a show with other artists and they show up late....then leave early.
Most of the time it's so fun and rewarding that it doesn't feel like work, but when it's 2am and there's someone hanging on you when you're trying to pack up it is!

You can be an artist and act like a professional. It's totally possible.

[S.P.eed]

Yeah - good stuff. I've been pretending for too long (kinda 25 years) and it's time to get out!!

[Tom Siegel]

I totally agree with your points here. When I was working as an audio engineer both in live settings and in the studio, it made such a difference to work with groups that had it together. This is not to say get organized so your audio engineer can be more comfortable. This is to say that I had an infinitely easier time helping the group to sound good when they were easy to work with.

Just a tip specific to dealing with your audio engineer...

At a show: know what you want for a stage sound. Maybe make it one band members job to handle getting all of the monitor mixes tweaked just so.

In the studio: have an idea of what direction you want your sound to go in and work with your engineer. Try not to direct them and do their job for them.

Tom Siegel

[Alex]

Love the comment, I actually recently had what I thought was the good fortune of signing a couple of very talented artists within the last 2 years, one of them was the runner up on the infamous CBS hit show "RockStar" well it was only a matter of time before she was a self proclaimed diva expecting the world bow to her feet, we made an amazing album, too bad the world will never here it because after I dropped her from my label the next person to back her won $84 million in the lottery, bought the masters from me for an insane price,LOL!! & within
2 months he dropped her for the exact same reasons I did! The true artists that this topic is about do exactly what you have written, not even thinking of the new equip, etc, etc.

[Jake]

Great point, to throw my two cents in regarding your question about maximizing your music and merch sales, simply having stores located on all of facets of your web presence, opens the door to solve such a problem. While its fairly well known to have at least a static presence on the major trafficked music sites such as facebook, myspace, last.fm, etc, I'm always amazed to see how few bands leverage these tools for sales. And of those who have attempted to harness these sites for sales, the majority direct their fans away from those sites to third parties such as iTunes to complete these sales. Yes iTunes is the dominant online retailer, but with their attention already captivated on YOUR site, why direct them away? It seems to be an unnecessary step that interrupts the flow of a smooth buying experience. The buying process should be as easy as possible.

That being said, tracking down a digital storefront that provides an effortless buying experience with an easy on the eyes look can be quite difficult. My favorite choice would have to be the Nimbit MyStore (bit.ly/2GIcIU). It's a fully integrated facebook store that fits directly on a tab in your profile or fan page. Along with the option to buy, fans can comment on the artist music which then appears in their facebook feed opening the door for viral interaction. It's quite cool and best of all free.

Ultimately I see it as a no brainer for an artist to sell his own music directly in order to receive the most commission off sales and capture fan data, something that you forfeit using services like iTunes. Thoughts?

[ian]

I think it is important with anything you do to keep a close eye on your goal it is easy to get side tracked but if you dream of being a well known star then it should be your aim to get their. Its not always easy to be discovered but to with different sites out there to help you and guide you not everyone has to be discovered on a reality tv show. Your talent can stand out.

[Jake]

Seriously one of the most on the level post about online music promotion out there. I suppose the only bit I feel should be added is in regards to your myspace statement. "You don’t own MySpace. Why let MySpace own you?", this crucial perspective should be expanded to included the majority of third party digital music watering holes (i.e. iTunes, Rhapsody, Myspace, etc) For almost the exact same reason you don't let Myspace act as your sole online representation, why limit your sales to third party digital retailers?

Even if you ignore the high commission rates (ouch), iTunes doesn't let artists know who bought their albums. This lack of fan data is crippling, especially when you're attempting to establish a direct, interpersonal relationship with your fans that you mentioned. Without establishing direct storefronts for your fans and allowing them to opt into a mailing list, how will you know who bought your music? Yes, you can rely on your fans to 'friend' you on Myspace or 'fan' you on facebook, but that's such a passive approach to fan management. It's also disrespecting to your fans who have done all the work in finding your website and taking their valuable time to listen. The least you could do would be to provide the quickest, least painful purchasing experience possible.

Ultimately it's about integrating your presence. Offer a means to purchase your music from all you points of your web presence. I feel it makes sense to direct fans to your own stores, but regardless it's just smart to have buying options wherever your music is. Reverbnation as you mentioned has widgets. My personal favorite for such a service is Nimbit. In addition to said widgets, they have a nicely integrated facebook store (bit.ly/2GIcIU) which is one of the sole stores to provide a blissfully easy buying experience for social media. It's also free.

[SpoonerLazenby]

In my opinion the whole music industry is a major rip off!!!! If your going to make it a carreer be ready for great dissapointment,and alot of depressing times!!!!! I know this because I've been there and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!!!!! You have to spend more than you make!!!! It's a prerequisite of the trade!!!!