As a musician, it doesn’t matter if you play the hardest rock, make the best remixes out there, create obscure dark electro, or rhyme verses over beats – You all want the same thing. You want your music heard by everyone across this planet, by any means you can. But how?? The classic method has been to record a stunning demo, pitch it to labels, and then have it pushed to the appropriate media sources. But, of course, this is outdated and archaic. There are far too many JUST like you who want the same thing. How can you cut through the noise and gain some attention?
Take a tip from the corporations for once: GIVE YOUR MUSIC AWAY FOR FREE. That’s right. FREE! No money.
In business jargon this is called “Freemium” – but it goes one step further. You know when you sign up for a service and it’s too good to be true. At first all it took was your email address. Once it hits its peak the catch becomes obvious – now that you’re invested you need to pay to go on to the premium content. Take Rdio for example. You can have full access to their service, or phone app, and the mega-library of music for nothing. But just a bit of money gives you no ads and a ton of more freedom. It gets users hooked, it becomes a simple necessity, and then users can’t do without. Hey, it clearly works for the music services.
What does this mean for musicians? Let’s face facts: We live in an age of piracy and entitlement. Everyone who wants your music can get it. We have already shared the easiest ways for independent artist to stay one step ahead of piracy, specifically through things like Bandcamp and now Twitter #Music, and so much of this has to do with anticipating the mindset of today’s music fan.
WHO IS TODAY’S MUSIC FAN??
The modern music fan is a strange creature with odd and unpredictable habits, however if you observe it for long enough you will notice patterns. Its habitat is almost completely online and it usually doesn’t have to stray very far in any direction to find what it wants. Fed on a diet exclusively of YouTube videos, streaming links, torrents, and file sharing blogs, the music fan knows how to get content. Nothing can or will stand in its way. Music is theirs by right. If you make it public, then by all means it is theirs for the consumption, right?
AND THERE ARE MILLIONS OF THEM. So why fight upstream? It’s time to adapt.
WHY IS “FREE” THE RIGHT SOLUTION?
Streaming has had one of the biggest impacts on the music industry. Sampling full albums is commonplace, as almost nobody wants to buy music blindly anymore. Purchasing music is now the ultimate sign of support. Why is it worth the music fan’s time to show you this ultimate support? In their minds, the music itself is a given and isn’t the only thing that is important. YOU HAVE TO HOOK THEM. The music, the look, the attitude – these are all important – but, it is going to be the musical substance that hooks listeners.
Since getting any music these days is as easy as turning on a computer, get the jump on things. Offer it for free and they will come to you. You will then have control over how the world will first be exposed to you.
HOW DO YOU COVER YOUR “FREE” BASES?
Get your music on all the sites that are out there. Make sure the profiles are all yours! (Or someone will do it first). Represent yourself exactly how you want to come across – artwork, colours, words, aesthetic – You can customize most of them to your liking. And then spread the word!
BANDCAMP, REVERBNATION, YOUTUBE, etc. etc. Learn them. Stay up to date with the most recent music services for artists and showcase your music where ever you can. Remind yourself: if you don’t do it then someone else will!
*Check out this great how-to when dealing with offering music for free*
THE PAY OFF?
You aren’t sacrificing your art – you are realistically building your fan base in the modern age. Clearly the most attention will be paid to the most accessible. The easier your music is to get a hold of, the more ears it will reach. (We also previously discussed that so many of these free hosting services have built in ways to monetize as well). Once you have a legion of true fans then you are set, but you need to get to them first. Give them the music upfront, but then you charge for the concerts, the merchandise, the physical album, the downloads, etc. etc.
See!? It’s “Freemium” at work. Now get to work and give that music away!
Jeeeeez, and you used to be so anti-corporate …
