Music Marketing [dot] com

Do The Numbers Work?

It's tough to make a living selling singles (or anything else) for $.99. To do it, you have to have a lot of volume

If you look at the "Top Charts" in Apple's App Store, you'll notice that, for the most part, the guys making the most money aren't the ones selling things for $.99.  

 

Most of the time, it's easier to make one $100 sale than 100 $1 sales. And this usually means more money...at least on the front end.

Something to think about when you're pricing your t-shirts, CDs, live shows, etc... And if you don't have a "backend" income stream in place, it's something I recommend.

But if you do have a good backend...

There are advantages to selling things for a "bargain" price or even giving things away for free. One of them is that you're able to charge more for something else, since you'll have the credibility and authority that comes with a lot of people being familiar with your stuff.

Of course, this essentially takes you to what I said a few lines up about it being easier to sell one $100 product than it is to sell 100 $1 products. You're just doing it on a bigger scale...maybe charging $10,000 instead of $100.

The bottom line...

Figure out how much money you need to do what you want to do and run the numbers a few ways to find out the best way to make that happen.

How to Fund Your Next Record...Maybe

You probably already know about Kickstarter, because you're on top of things, but keep reading for great examples of how to get the money you're looking for...

And for those that don't know...

Kickstarter is the world's largest "funding platform" for creative projects. Every month, tens of thousands of people pledge millions of dollars to help make the projects they want to support possible.

Money raised via Kickstarter is not an investment or loan. Project creators (that's you!) keep 100% ownership and control over their work. In exchange for the money received, they offer products and experiences that are unique to each project.

Examples...

• copy of the album being funded
• a custom song
• t-shirt
• autographed set list
• a private concert
• lunch with the band
• "producer" credit
• exclusive demos
• rehearsal tapes

The thing I really like about this is that it's "all or nothing" funding.  One of the big issues musicians have with fan-funded or advance sales is not getting all the money needed to finish the project.  That doesn't happen here since a project must reach its funding goal before time runs out for any money to change hands.

"All or nothing" funding protects everyone involved. Creators aren’t expected to develop their project without necessary funds, and it allows people to pledge money without risk.

If you're looking for a way to fund your new album, this may be just what you're looking for!

Here are a couple of example "pitch videos" to give you ideas on how to raise the money you need...

Post comments below...

Have you used Kickstarter? If so, what were the results?

Big Brother and the Music Business

Like the TSA, where everybody is treated like a terrorist, Universal Music Group is now treating their customers like pirates by embedding tracking information in downloadable music...

As somebody who makes a living from intellectual property, I'm all for wanting to get paid, but I also recognize that...

1. It's better for somebody to have my music than not have it, even if it's stolen. This is especially true for new acts, who can really benefit from the word-of-mouth that comes along with friends sharing music with each other.

2. It's bad business to treat honest people like criminals. The people on who buy your music on Amazon, which is where this warning was taken from, or anywhere else, are the people allowing you to stay in business and they deserve better.

Record Deal via YouTube? Yes, It Happens...

Yes, it happens...

How does it happen?  Let's break it down...

1. Great talent.

2. Great versions of songs that people were already familiar with, were looking for, and wanted to hear...

The leverage you get from utilizing a path that has already been constructed is one of the reasons I'm a huge fan of covers, remixes, and samples.  If you don't have a "familar, but done in a different way" cover on your album, YouTube page, or live setlist, you are leaving money on the table!

And speaking of leverage, the 3:53 of the video above is a perfect example of it and something you should be doing with your videos.

3. Great original songs.

4. A following that proved the concept worked.

5. As Cory Robbins said, the group is "ready to go" with little artist development needed.

Visit AHMIRmusic.com for more information on AHMIR.

How to Get Other Musicians to Promote Your Music (and Send You Big Licensing Checks)

Your content is more valuable coming from somebody else than it is from you.  For example, your song being played on a radio station is worth more to you than the same song on your own site and a good review is worth more in Rolling Stone than it would be on your blog.

Why?  For one, the "reach" of other outlets if better will get you in places you couldn't have done on your own.  You'll also have an "endorsement" though and that helps a lot when it comes to the increasing positive perception of what you're doing.  In short, social proof sells things.

Just got an email from a band I interviewed on Music Business Radio, Computer vs. Banjo.  They don't tour, yet have done very well with music licensing.  They've licensed songs to MTV's "The Hills",  "The Real World",  "Road Rules",  "Parental Control", and "Sex with Mom and Dad."  You've also heard their music on "Weeds", "Keeping Up With The Kardashians", "Living With Lohan", and the film "The Sharp End."

And they've gotten some great press...

Wired said, "Everything from guitars, drum machines and banjos to dobros, synths and mandolins are thrown into the musical blender. The result is a series of tasty digifolk jams from a band who doesn’t need a weatherman to tell it which way the zeitgeist is blowing."

NPR said, "The computer tends to win the battle on the group’s self-titled debut, but countless computerized samples of more traditional instruments give the record an eclectic, genre-bending sound."

How does this happen?

They're just released a second album and here's what they're doing to get the word out.  This may seem like a ballsy move, and I'm sure it will scare plenty of short-term thinkers, but remember what I said about how the value of your content increases when it's consumed in places other than your own. 

Everybody these days had a "free download" available, but going beyond that and giving people access to the raw tracks makes that 10x more powerful, since they'll be able to use what you've got in coming up with their own music. 

Doing this goes way beyond simply generating interest for your music though...

If something happens to the new music that is created, who gets part of the copyright and licensing fees?

Smart move.  It's like having all your music creation, licensing, and promotion outsourced.

At the very least, they'll get enough "new" material to release another album.

Here's the email they sent out.  Since they're letting you borrow their music, I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you swiped this too...

Greetings from Computer vs. Banjo!  We are very excited to announce the release of our second full album.  This time around we are doing things a bit differently and we wanted to kick it all off by reaching out to those of you who supported the release of our first record.  Here is the scoop:

After a widely acclaimed 2008 debut album, Computer vs. Banjo is back with their sophomore release Riverboat Swing.  Embracing the current music climate and culture of FREE, all tracks AND multi-track versions of each song, will be made available for free download at the band’s web site. These multi-track files are intended for djs, artists, songwriters, engineers, Garage Band hobbyists, etc… to remix and restructure however they see fit. The band encourages everyone to send their creations to band(at)computervsbanjo(dot)com and they will be posting submissions on their blog in order to share the results of this open source music making experiment.

So download it, share it, re-mix it.... www.computervsbanjo.com

Post your thoughts on the concept and ways to improve or customize it below...

For more information on Computer vs. Banjo, check out computervsbanjo.com or their interview on Music Business Radio.

Seth Godin on the Music Business

This is a special, Internet-exclusive episode of Music Business Radio featuring Seth Godin.  This episode was taped backstage at the 40th annual Country Radio Seminar in Nashville, TN.

We talked about the changing music business, how musicians and labels can make more money, how to get raving fans, word of mouth, tastemakers (and how to be one), licensing, and much more.

Special thanks to Jeff Walker and the staff of AristoMedia for help with this interview!

For future Internet-exclusive episodes, subscribe to our podcast.

Got a Record Deal... Lost It... Then Got it Back Again

Here's a bonus interview with Warner Brothers artist, Eric Hutchinson. Eric talks about getting a record deal, losing it, and then getting it back again...with the same label!

Like audio interviews? Get the podcast!

Music Business Predictions for 2009

Matt Rosoff has some interesting music industry predictions for 2009.

Thoughts?

Music City Remixed

My friend Craig Havighurst just completed a radio documentary for WPLN called Music City Remixed. 

This is a great documentary about how the music business is changing and what's going to happen after the major label shakeout is over.  I suggest everybody listen to it.

Download or listen below...

Thoughts?

The Real Reason Record Sales are Down

Record sales are down...at least traditional record sales.  Downloads are up.  It's not hard to go up when you're starting so low though.  Just a few years ago, we didn't even have downloadable music.

Of course, when you add everything up and include the downloads, record sales are still down.

Here's a list of the best-selling music artists.  It's likely we'll never see anybody added to that list.

Why?

It's not because of illegal downloads.  It's not because current music sucks.  It's not because of anything we did wrong.

Strangely enough, we'll never see another act added to that list because of something we've done right.

If your band was on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, you'd probably be pretty happy about it, right?  You'd be exposed to millions of people and chances are that you'll sell a few albums because of it.

If you'd been on Johnny Carson's version of the show 30 years ago, you would have been exposed to even more people...and sell even more albums.

If you'd been on the Ed Sullivan Show 20 years before that, you'd do more than just sell albums-- you'd be able to tour the country...and assuming you could keep up your level of performance, probably have a long career after that.

What's the difference? 

Choice.

When Ed Sullivan was on the air, we didn't have 400 channels to choose from...and that's how we was so big.  Johnny Carson has a similar situation.

Record labels were once like that.  Acts were able to sell millions of albums because consumers didn't have thousands of choices to pick from.

That's good news for you.  The "old school" system was great for the people who were on top.  If you were Frank Sinatra or Elvis, you got tons of attention.  There was no "middle class" though.  You were either getting the attention of record labels or you weren't.

Today, you can easily release an album.  In fact, it's so easy, you could literally record something today and have it available to the world by tomorrow.

That means more albums are being released...which means consumers have more choice.  Add that to other entertainment choices, such a video games, satellite television, and home video.  These things weren't a factor 30 years ago.

But they're a big factor now... And strangely enough, there is music involved in every one of them.

Because of this, I'd argue that while album sales might be down, music sales are not.  People are simply consuming music in a different way.  No longer do we have one format-- we can get it via our phone, a portable music player, video games, movie rentals, satellite radio, streaming online stations, and any number of ways.

This means that artists and songwriters are being paid in a different way.  They are getting paid though.

We might not have the "superstar" artists of the past and even the "Tonight Show" type of television shows might not mean as much as they once did, but there is still a ton of money to be made in music.

Personally, I'd rather have it this way.  The consumer wins because he has more entertainment options and musicians and songwriters win, since they'll have more options to be creative and be paid.

Thoughts?