Tuesday, March 26, 2013

It Used To Be About the Music


Let’s face it, the ultimate goal for the vast majority of musicians, if not all of them, is to make money from their music.  Obviously the dream of a private island and a swimming pool with a fully stocked daiquiri bar is the ideal.  But even if it’s not enough to support yourself, the fact that someone out there is paying for the privilege to listen to your songs, can go a long way for any band’s morale.  But it’s not enough to simply write and record music anymore.  In order to see a substantial return on your art, you must diversify and hone your strategy. 

The best thing you can do is to pair your music with an identity of some kind.  This can be on as large a scale as the “Dead Head” identity is to Grateful Dead fans, or as simple as a universal emotion or a common personality trait.  Think of how many heavy metal bands have made a living off of ‘hate’ and ‘anger’.  Think of how many pop groups have made a fortune from the ‘hopeless romantic’ image, while in reality are enjoying very active personal lives.  Even though you’ll probably never hear Tom Waits on the radio, he makes quite a comfortable living from the ‘drunk and tortured poet’ mystique.    

Pairing your music with a video can help make your sound more memorable.  Attaching your music to a smartphone app, or anything phone related can also be extremely effective.  Not only will it be a more constant and interactive reminder that your band exists, but more importantly, getting on someone’s smartphone means getting into their pockets, which brings you that much closer to where their money is.

Click here for the original article. 

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