I try to avoid ever writing anything when I’m in a “mood” but today is a bit of an exception…
Here are 3 ways to absolutely guarantee that you will fail as a musician.
No musical legacy, no limousines, no fancy house. Nada!
Just follow these steps and you will almost certainly get to spend your life working that crappy “day job” and talking to your friends about the good old days when you used to be cool.
If any of that stuff touches a nerve, you might want to rethink what you’ve been doing so far to get your music career off the ground.
1. Expect Someone Else to Make Your Career Happen For You…
Ever notice how many musicians state that they “hate marketing”, or, “hate business”?
I think I’m gonna puke in my mouth if I hear one more musician state that they are “an artist”, and that they don’t want to have to pay any attention to the actual business aspects of music. It’s as if they think they are some how above it all.
I can’t tell you how many musicians defiantly state that all they want to do is focus on writing, recording and performing, and that they want a manager or a label to take care of everything else.
Here’s the thing… No shit!
Who wouldn’t like that? Sounds friggin’ awesome. I’ll just sit around and be too-cool-for-school and wait for someone to realize how completely rad I am. Let me know how that works out folks. And we wonder why there are so many homeless jokes about musicians.
I have worked in nearly every corner of the music business. I’ve worked as a club promoter, a producer, a music marketing consultant, and of course as a major label recording artist just to name a few. I can tell you first hand, the people who succeed work their asses off… and it’s only getting harder.
With the amount of passion, talent, and sheer love of the craft that so many of my fellow musicians have, I can’t for the life of me figure out why more musicians aren’t also learning the craft of marketing and making it a major part of their career.
Marketing is power, don’t confuse it with the message…
We hate marketing because so much of the marketing we experience as a consumer has a crappy message behind it. But if you are sincere about your product and respect your audience, marketing is simply a tool of expression.
By becoming a student of music marketing and the various facets of the music business, you are empowering yourself and taking responsibility for your own destiny – as an artist as well as a human being.
We are still at the dawn of the technological revolution. Never before has a musician had as much control over the circumstances of their own success.
I think many musicians suffer from a bit of confusion about what marketing actually is. Marketing is not Facebook, or Twitter, it’s not how your website looks, nor is it whether or not you get reviews in magazines or spins on the radio.
Marketing is understanding who you are ultimately selling to, and then presenting your music in a way that aligns perfectly with the needs and wants of those people, with the ultimate goal of closing the sale. Everything else is just a tool with which you can accomplish this.
2. Obsess Over Making Everything Perfect…
Another great way to fail is to never get your music out there in the first place.
Too many musicians spend years trying to get their product absolutely perfect. I can think of one musician I know, (I’ll keep his name private), who has been working on his album for over 10 years now. He’s currently re-recording it for the 3rd time. I don’t have the heart to tell the guy, but with his current attitude, it just ain’t gonna happen.
Your music is your story. Tell your story at all costs. That is what you do… or, at least, what you are supposed to be doing.
If you have an A-list producer and $300,000 budget then by all means, make yourself a kick ass big budget record. But conversely, if all you have is “Garage Band” and an acoustic guitar, make a solo acoustic record on your computer for God’s sake. Hell, I don’t care if you can even play guitar. You’re a musician! Make music any way you can.
It doesn’t matter if you tell your story with a vintage Less Paul or a friggin’ leaf blower. Just tell your story. Create art that is “cool” and present it to the world in an interesting way. If you have something special in you, people will hear it and you WILL be on your way.
At the very least you will be one step closer to creating your masterpiece. Nothing helps you develop faster as an artist than recording. It externalizes the process and causes you to learn and grow as a result.
From a marketing standpoint, having product allows you to go out there and start building that fan base now and after all, that’s the point; to be heard. Do it, and do it now. Be whoever you’re going to be. Life is not going to wait.
And finally, if you really want to make sure you fail as a musician…
3. Resist Anything That Requires Actual Effort…
At the risk of being obnoxious, I do REALLY well with my online business. In fact, over the last 3 years I have generated over $1.4 million in sales. As a consultant I have orchestrated campaigns that have broken various sales records.
As a result, I get approached nearly every day by musicians and even friends, asking if they can hire me to consult for them and handle their entire marketing campaign.
The reality is that my plate is just too damn full to take on many individual clients, so for the most part, I am forced to politely decline.
However I typically try to suggest that anyone can do this themselves and that all you need to do is build a list and learn some basics of copywriting. I explain the “sales funnel” and talk about how well it’s worked for me.
I can see people start to get excited. Their eyes get focused; they start to visualize a future where they are able to quit their dreaded day job.
Then they ask the big question… How much work is involved?
I tell them the truth…
If you’re just starting out you’re going to need to read a few books and really put in a few months worth of work or so until you have the hang of it. You’ll need a squeeze page and you should really get a blog going as well. You’ll need to set up an autoresponder and learn the basics of direct response marketing. Once everything is in place you want to really monitor your results so you can get a good read on your conversion rates and subscriber value. Once you have that info you can outsource the whole thing and get back to focusing on the music… or whatever business the person happens to be in.
By this point the spark has already begun to fade. Their eyes glaze over and their expression says what they’re actually thinking.
Fuck it… That sounds like too much work.
I want you to think about how insane this is for a moment.
I basically tell someone how they can accomplish their life long dream of building a real audience, selling albums, and quitting their day job. But the second they find out a little work is involved – screw it.
People are literally choosing a life of artistic obscurity rather than putting in a bit of hard work.
Most musicians spend 3 or 4 years at a minimum learning their instruments before they even dare join a band or perform live. They’ll drop tens of thousands of dollars on gear and recording costs, but a few months of learning about the actual business of music – forget about it.
It honestly doesn’t make much sense to me.
—————————————————-
And there you have it folks. A fool proof, three step plan for failure in the music business.
No time, energy, or money required.
All you need to do is hold on to that belief that marketing is evil, stay away from anything remotely difficult, and wait around for some savior of a manager or record label to show up on your doorstep and make you a star. Instant results are guaranteed.
—————————————————-
Why the rant?
Maybe you remember that a few months ago I mentioned that I would soon be opening the doors on what I’m calling the “Music Marketing Insider Circle”.
The Insider Circle is an elite community of musicians that are actually interested in marketing.
Imagine that… musicians who want to take their careers into their own hands, roll up their sleeves and do a little hard work to turn their music career into a lasting, viable, and, of course, PROFITABLE affair.
That is what the Insider Circle is all about. It’s a community of musicians who understand what marketing is, and how essential this stuff is for our careers.
In Music Marketing Manifesto I teach a complete Music Marketing Strategy that actually gets results. The course contains everything you need to get your music career off the ground. MMM 2.0 is now well on it’s way to having 1000 members and I have received countless emails from folks who have had tremendous results after applying the strategies in the course.
With that said, there seems to be a number of you who are ready for more.
That’s where the Music Marketing Inner Circle comes in. It’s a private members area for musicians who want to take things to the next level and see behind the curtain of some of the more advanced and experimental stuff that I, and many of my colleagues, are working on.
In the members area there will be a monthly marketing lesson, a mastermind forum, industry insider interviews, as well as a monthly coaching call.
The lessons will consist of everything from getting press without a publicist, to Youtube marketing, and everything in between. If you’ve been reading the blog for any length of time then you know that I’m always in the trenches trying shit out. The members area is where I’ll be sharing the results of some of those more involved experiments.
In other words: it’s where I’ll be sharing the good shit… insert evil laugh here.
The lessons will consist of basically anything that I think is cool. That’s musician speak for anything I think can help you get more fans and sell more albums.
There will be a private mastermind forum where you can discuss marketing strategies with other musicians who are in the same boat, where you can find JV partners to cross promote or tour with, and of course yours truly will be in there on a regular bases answering questions and sharing even more tips. I’ve also gone and rounded up a number of other music marketing experts and convinced them to join the forum and share their expertise as well. This is something I’ve wanted to do for years and I think it’s going to be friggin’ awesome.
Now – as I’ve already touched on – the Music Marketing Inner Circle is not for everyone.
If you’re still of the mind set that “marketing is evil”, or that you would rather wait for a record label to come along and make you a rock star, this is probably not for you.
The Insider Circle is basically a DIY think tank for musicians who already understand the value of this stuff and who are serious about making a life in music. Long story short, I hope to create the most cutting edge music marketing community on the internet and it is not really for newbies.
I’m very excited to announce that I’ll be opening the doors for a beta launch sometime next week.
A beta launch means that this is just an initial market test. I need to figure out how much support I can handle, hear what people want to learn more about, what features they might want to see, etc. This means that it will only be open to a limited number of members initially. I’ll have to wait and see what happens but based on the emails I’ve been getting, I have a feeling I’m going to need to cap things off pretty fast. So if it’s something you’re interested in, be sure to watch your inbox.
As excited as I am about the Music Marketing Insider Circle, I’m also a bit disheartened.
I have received thousands of emails from musicians over the last few months. While I truly dig hearing from you guys, I’m surprised by how many barriers to success many musicians throw up for themselves.
I see people skipping an important strategy simply because they can’t figure out a way to come up with $20 a month for an autoresponder. I also come across many musicians who are convinced that a record label is the only path to success. Many musicians don’t see that the very attitude they have about how a career in the music business is “supposed” to be, is the very thing holding them back from success.
I don’t doubt that many of you reading this are amazingly talented people. I’ll bet that a few of you reading this will go on to be big stars. I’m just concerned that perhaps some of you are waiting for the world to come to you, when in fact; you need to be taking your gift to the world.
I’m going to end this rant with a question, and I’m being completely sincere here…
DO YOU ACTUALLY WANT TO MAKE IT AS A MUSICIAN?
Or do you find it easier and safer to just say that the music business is fucked up and if you don’t succeed it’s the fault of the industry or the collective bad taste the masses have in music?
I’m honestly not being facetious or sarcastic, in this last bit here.
In fact, if you’re struggling with your music career and you genuinely want to succeed, but maybe you just need a little bit of guidance…
…then post a comment below and let me know what you’re having trouble with – I’ll answer your question here on the blog promptly. If you use the Facebook comment feature I will send you a private answer via a Facebook message.
Forgive me if a lot of the post came off as overly sarcastic or even arrogant. Most of it was meant to be playful. With that said, I do see a lot of frustrating characteristics amongst my peers. I sincerely want to help change that and help you guys succeed. Despite my flippant attitude in this post that is truly all I’m trying to do here.
Here’s to your music career and a SUCCESSFUL future.
Sincerely,
- John Oszajca
UPDATE: The Insider Circle is now open. Click here to learn more >>>
Music Marketing Blueprint Video... shows you the exact strategy I used to help an artist become a #1 Best Seller on CD Baby
{ 56 comments… read them below or add one }
In the music industry, popularity is the burning fuel that dictates the survival of fame. There have been number of artists and bands who have invaded the show business. They have made millions of profits while enjoying the spot light. This trend makes it interesting why some superstars end their career.
The road to fame is not easy as these guys who made it up there would agree. Almost everyone would start from scratch. Most started their careers by performing in fest and small free concerts. From small beginnings, most have successfully achieved their places on higher grounds. Here are some reasons why successful music superstar had to bid their careers goodbye.
Hello John
I want too thank you for a great article, and no you were not being to harsh you were being real. I recently started my own indie label with my brother and friend. My friend is the artist, and we are pushing . We released a e.p. in January, and we need help with marketing strategies. We want too be successful, and wet need some guidance too take it to the next level. Below is a link to his facebook fanpage and his nimbit page. I’m very interested in being apart of your community, I like the idea of the master mind group, very “Think and Grow Rich”. Thanks again John for the great article.
Caleb Matteis of Future Music Group Entertainment
http://www.facebook.com/v.keatin
http://www.reverbnation.com/vinkeatin
http://www.nimbitmusic.com/vinkeatin
http://www.youtube.com/vinkeatin
Hey Caleb,
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. Much appreciated. Make sure you sign up on the mailing list if you haven’t already. I’ll send out info as soon as the doors open back up on the Insider Circle.
Thanks again.
Dear John,
Almost sounds like a movie. HA!
I loved your article. Truly inspiring. I have to say that I am EXACTLY that musician who spent all his years honing his music skills and none of his business skills. After having graduated Magna Cum Laude from Berklee in Film Scoring I couldn’t even find a work in a music store let alone scoring a movie. Now after scraping by in the music business, I find myself ready to learn. What do I lack? MARKETING and business skills! I suck at it, man. And I need education. So, I have two questions for you:
1) Where can I learn how to market my music?
&
2) How does one market to the 25-35 age bracket?
I loved when you said “Marketing is understanding who you are ultimately selling to, and then presenting your music in a way that aligns perfectly with the needs and wants of those people, with the ultimate goal of closing the sale. ” I know my demographic is 25-35 but have NO idea what their needs and wants are.
Thanks for your time and looking forward to your response.
Cheers!
Thanks Eric.
I really appreciate the kind words. You’re definitely not alone in being all art and no business. Thankfully you’ve got the hard part down
1. At the risk of being blatantly self promoting, I created a course in which I teach musicians my marketing strategy. You can find it here:
http://www.musicmarketingmanifesto.com/manifesto-novid.html
2. The process of marketing to an age specific crowd is very much the same as marketing to any crowed. The only exceptions being that you would target your specific demographic when you drive traffic, and you would also speak specifically to that demographic during the relationship building portion of the process. IE, you wouldn’t make “Back to the Future” references in your copy if you were selling to 15 year olds, but you might with your demographic.
There is a part of the process where you craft was is essentially sales copy. You just want to make sure that the conversation you broach with your following matches the one that is already taking place in their head.
The only real way of knowing what your demographic needs and wants is to either be a part of that group yourself, or to research the group. You can literally interview people and ask them what there biggest concerns are, strong pleasant memories, fears, etc. You can also take your existing list and simply survey them with something like surveymonkey.com
Tell me more!
well said John, you have to tell the truth, not what artists (I) like to hear, thats why it works with! Personally I have so much on my plate I need 36h a day so I’ve come to conclusion to put progress in priority levels, it slows me down but…here’s a question it sounds silly to me a bit but I’m going to for it, when I still need work on getting closer with my fans, should I inform them about a big personal issue but don’t want to sound as an excuse? whats your point of view?
Hey Joanna,
Not knowing what the issue is, it’s hard for me to say. As a general rule you want to maintain your “leader” or “authority” status. You don’t want to burden your fans in any way or come of as being a victim, but at the same time, there is nothing wrong with letting people into your world and sharing your pain a bit. My advice would just be to do it in a way that frames yourself as always being in control of the circumstances of your own life. That make sense?
Yeah there is a thin line but your reply makes sense.
Thank you
John.
I have basically given up. I spent 5 years with Incubator Creative Group but they just kept wanting more money for this or that. I have recorded 3 CD’s and sang at many churches over the years but After sending out promo packs, emails, Snail mail letters, I am exhausted and out of funds and or ideas. I haven’t recorded a new project in over 8 years even though I have many new songs. I rarely get any kind of response to sing anywhere. I can play an acoustic but not well.(Chord strummer) I am a fairly good drummer but kind of hard to sell singing in church along with tracks while playing drums.
Im just frustrated, found this email and read this article and it has sparked my interest. Can you guide me to the first step?
Thanks
Mike
The first step is to develop a sales funnel. In it’s simplest terms that means a squeeze page and email series that is designed to walk a new subscriber through all the psychological steps a person takes before they decide to purchase.
Awareness.
Interest.
Desire.
Action.
You of course need a selling platform as well. CD Baby would be the simplest but there are some advantages to selling from your own site.
Then you just need to drive traffic.
Hello John
this is just what I need! I already have some great tips from just reading the post seeing the video etc.I will def become a of the group looking foward to getting to work.Thanks for passing it on I feel this is the missing link..now to get all the e/mails togeather.
thanks again
Michele
My pleasure Michele, glad you liked the post and video.
Now go kick ass
John
Hello ,I have read this email and comments with interest. I have spent around $45.000 in your money on what I know is a is a good album ,By the 1700 messages I got on my space . which are all around 4 years old now, I was using a automated contact system which I stopped as MySpace warned me, Since then I have been basically sending off cds to radio stations for ages now getting the odd play here and there, But nothing seems to be moving and I have realised to get some where, That the internet is a great place if you know how to use it!!! I am interested in being in your 1000 crowd could you let me know when you are starting.
Thanks Tony Mcgarrett.
http://www.myspace.com/ottbandcouk
Hey Tony,
Thanks for the comment. Music Marketing Manifesto is already open to the public. You can check it out via the link that says “Manifesto” in the Nav Bar. The Music Marketing Insider Circle is something different and it goes live tomorrow… as long as I can get all these damn technical issues out of the way. Doh!
Hi John,
I’m interested in learning more about your marketing strategies. It seems I have been running around in circles trying to learn the business and know that waiting for someone else to come along would be a huge mistake and am ready to learn how to be a successful musician with real fans who really love my music and want to buy it. I look forward to an email from you with the details for getting your marketing strategy information. I’m still in the process of making up mp3 albums for sales in itunes, hard copy CD’s for sale perhaps in CDBaby, and I have a lot of music to sell. I also have to make a blog which is a terrific idea and create a website. I’ve always been a hard worker, so, bring it on John… let’s get the ball rolling. Thank you!!
Hey Fran,
You’ve got the right attitude. Let me know if there are any specific questions you have. I’ll have plenty more stuff coming your way via email as well.
Thanks.
John,
I believe a good deal of musicians come into this game with archaic ideals and conservative thinking. Many of the musicians I know do not really talk about “making it,” but it is certainly on their minds. I never really understood why all of the musicians/bands I knew always held onto the notion that there existed no money to make in music. It’s like they accepted failure before even beginning. The artist makes up roadblocks to justify failure. People are very aversed to change with the evolving musical climate. You don’t really have “musicians” in this business anymore. You have “musician entrepreneurs.” As an artist, you have to be well versed in all aspects of music or hire someone in the areas you’re lagging in. Even if it were as easy as just getting noticed, signed and making albums, would you really want that? By having the appropriate expertise in all areas, you empower yourself. Signing a contract is exactly the opposite. You’re compromising your power and giving it away to someone who probably doesn’t care about anything that can’t be measured in dollar signs. This is the new world. Learn as much as you can… Or don’t.
P
Well said Patrick. I particularly agree with “The artist makes up roadblocks to justify failure”. Thanks for the comment.
Hello John….I enjoyed your article very much. I agree that music is much more than merely playing, recording etc, and the emphasis on business is vital in this present climate. I have not delved into the business aspects as deeply as I could, or should at this point, but I know I must cultivate the business side now more than ever. Thank you for sharing the article, I look forward to what is next. Count me in on the inner circle if possible.
Peter Britt
Thanks Peter, really appreciate it.
John,
I absolutely agree. I live in Nashville and have talked to everyone from industry people to people who want to “make” it. The industry people know that the recording is the easy part … for the rest, it’s just too much work.
If you want a record deal, it’s like any other job. You have to show ‘em you can do the work. And it not just being a great musician. You have to prove that you’re worth the investment and can make them money. (Sorry … MUSIC is the little word, BUSINESS is the big word.)
YOU have to do the work, even if you’re “signed”.
John, you’re right … you have to learn your craft and that involves every aspect of your career.
Thanks Reuben. I totally agree. Too many musicians reject the idea that you need to show the industry that you are “worth the investment” before they should consider signing you. Well said.
Thanks and thanks again . Just needed to hear all of it. Thanks.
You’re welcome Mary. Much appreciated.
“Marketing is understanding who you are ultimately selling to, and then presenting your music in a way that aligns perfectly with the needs and wants of those people, with the ultimate goal of closing the sale.”
Excellent, and perfectly succinct description of the process ANYONE who wants a small/large business must go through. And great article on taking responsibility for your own career. Unfortunately, many musicians feel they’re different from their neighbors with machine shops, clothing stores, dogsitting serverices, etc., who have to learn how to market themselves. Being a successful musician these days involves skills that may not have been necessary before. And it also means a lot of WORK! Thanks for helping people see that.
Thanks Waldo. I really appreciate the comments.
Thank you, John, for all the insight. I am a songwriter, new to the music biz. I have purchased your course and am working my way through it, although as yet I have no recordings or albums…So I will be ready!
Here’s a response to Jim Byrne’s question about figuring out who your music sounds like.
I’m asking random friends or acquaintances to listen to my songs and tell me who or what comes to their minds. These are folks who know music or at least listen to it quite a bit. I may even ask them for assistance in writing my articles.
I have a question of my own: I am a songwriter with a number of songs ready to go to my arranger/producer as finances come in. You are talking about giving away free tracks and promoting albums. Do you think giving away a free track, then promoting the downloading of one song at a time would work? If so, this could be a way to finance the album to come.
Looking forward to hearing from you.–Wendy
Hi Wendy,
Thanks for picking up MMM. I personally wouldn’t promote songs one at a time simply because it’s going to be very hard to make much money one song at a time.
If I were in your shoes I would probably try to do something were I charge people $10 or $15 for behind the scenes access to the making of the album. I’d explain that you need your fans help to raise the capitol for the record and that by purchasing the behind the scenes album they get this cool interactive experience as well as a free copy of the album when it’s done. But I wouldn’t try to get the support until AFTER you had done a little relationship building (via email) first. This is just one way to go, but it’s what I would do.
It’s no harder to sell a $15 item then it is a $1 item, so I’d figure out a way to get more money for the same amount of sales. Just make sure you’re offering real value and you’ll find some takers.
Your post is dead on, John.
My issue is not a lack of effort. Like Nick Parton and others, I can’t seem to build to a critical mass without throwing tons of money at the problem.
(Critical mass being enough of an email list that I can build relationships and make sales when I can create fresh offers.)
Due to long term family issues, I cannot do live performances.
I have my stuff on iTunes and Amazon, etc.
I’ve been using and testing adwords for a long time with almost zero response.
Facebook ads ate my budget alive.
Jango is where I see a bit of movement but it can get expensive too.
Personally, I feel stuck.
Hey Lee,
Building a list really isn’t that hard. Do you have my course by chance?
In the course I cover several free methods. Article marketing and joint ventures being my favorite if you have some time to put into it.
You also want to make sure you are driving your traffic to a squeeze page, not a content rich site. Using a squeeze page will typically boost your subscriber conversion rate to about 15 – 40%. A typical website usually converts at less than 5%.
Hope that helps.
That does help, John.
I need to get your course into my budget.
Thanks.
After forty years of playing covers, owning a mobile recording van, working in music stores repairing electronics, meeting fabulous performers who are somewhat financial failures, my partner and I began writing our own material.
We now have product after two years of writing and recording. Something to sell. I have not bought any of your products but have read all your free blogs and watched your presentations. I am a tough sell but I think you have convinced me to want to take part in your “inner circle” so that I can pick up the finer points of marketing music.
Thank you for your efforts in bringing success to musicians.
le Hook
Thanks and you’re welcome. Glad you’ve been digging what I’ve been putting out there. Best of luck with your music.
Hi John, Great article. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I am a full time musician in Austin, TX. Living off gigs right now, but would love to learn more about the marketing side. Every time I play out, I realize I fall short of the smallest things like mentioning the CDs often, name of the band, etc. I embrace that I am the booking agent, promoter, songwriter, recording artist. I did my first CD on garageband complete with horns, strings, backup vocals and more. The band I have here in Austin has recorded basic tracks and now we look for a budget to finish it. I would like it done by July. I was thinking to use kickstarter to raise $4,500. Do have other suggetstions? I know I have the desire, drive and energy toward a successful business. I do need more knowledge and would love to learn about the marketing! I look forward to hearing from you.
All the best!
Lisa Marshall
Lisa……take Johns Music Marketing Manifesto course. Hands down the best music marketing course I have ever taken. I’m still putting his methods into practice, but they are starting to work. BTW, I am similar to you….full time musician, living off gigs, my own agent, promoter ect. recorded my CD in my home studio……I’m not sure what John is charging for the course now, but I would take it again in a heartbeat!
Thanks Greg, I really appreciate the kind words.
Hey Lisa,
I haven’t used Kickstarter so I wouldn’t have an opinion on that, but at the end of the day… whatever works.
I’d focus on building your list so that you had a “tribe” of sorts that you could try to get some support from.
From there my advice to you would be similar to the advice I gave in an earlier comment.
“If I were in your shoes I would probably try to do something were I charge people $10 or $15 for behind the scenes access to the making of the album. I’d explain that you need your fans help to raise the capitol for the record and that by purchasing the behind the scenes album they get this cool interactive experience as well as a free copy of the album when it’s done. But I wouldn’t try to get the support until AFTER you had done a little relationship building (via email) first. This is just one way to go, but it’s what I would do.
Just make sure you’re offering real value and you’ll find some takers.”
But by all means, try kickstarter and any other angle you can find to raise funds as well. You can also simply try to find a producer on spec.
Hey John, I think you’re absolutely right about your insights to most musician’s failures. I personally can say that I’ve been one of those people. However, I do believe what your selling will improve most musician’s abilities to sell their music; that is, those who intend to use it. I feel like I’m hearing my pony-league baseball coach tellin’ me, ” don’t worry about this next guy, we know he can hit; just reach back, down around Texas somewhere, and fire that damn ball!” I’m fired up about this! I’m a good songwriter, composer, musician, but have wasted a mountain of time putting obstacles in my own way. I sought you, out of desperation, during these tough economic times, by Googling the question, ” How can I sell my music online?” I knew someone out there had the goods. I couldn’t believe my first click would be so informative. Thanks John for re-kindling a smoldering fire, and for being honest about what it’s gonna take to make things happen. I’m no stranger to hard work. It’s right up my alley…
Thanks Butch. Very touching comment. Now go get’em
Loved this article John!
I couldn’t agree with you more. I’m in the process of recording, planing, putting & putting together the total music package while I learn as much as I can about the best ways to get it to my audience.
To be the master of your own destiny as an artist tailoring every aspect of your product to you own specifications & personality… Nothing like it. It’s fun & a creative challenge coming up with script and designing YOUR OWN package. If you’re not doing this as a musician you’re missing out.
The technical part is tough for me but I have your squeeze page and will get that up & running as soon as I redesign it to fit the look of my music. I’ll be hitting you up for a technical wall I hit as soon as that’s done.
Thanks for the reverse psychological approach to the pep talk. With so many of us frustrated musicians with an anti-this and anti that mindset, I think it’s one of the best ways to wake some of us up.
Kudos!
James
Thanks so much James. Really appreciate the comment. Let me know if you run in to any technical challenges.
Bless you John for your energy. I’ve invested over 27 years trying to get these points out – the fact is that although I’ve made a hell of a lot of great friends in the process, I’m just plain tired of preaching. This is a hard nut to crack. I praise you and stand behind your efforts. Ron, Creative Musicians Coalition
Thanks Ron, I really appreciate that. All the best to you and your efforts as well.
Hi John,
Great advice, as usual! I am still working my way through the Music Marketing Manifesto, but I must say that EVERY thing in it that I have applied so far is working! As you might recall from my past emails, I had a lot of problems getting my squeeze page online, and a few other problems too, but I stuck with it, and I am glad I did. My list is starting to grow, and I really haven’t agressivly started working on the social media tactics yet. I am almost through with my new CD, so over the next several weeks I plan on really applying the rest of the tactics in MMM. I will admit that does take a fair amount of work, and there are some cost’s involved, but what business doesn’t?
I totaly agree with you about the crappy additude that many musicians have…….I’m an “artist”, I refuse to be a “sellout” etc. etc…….. What a bunch of egotistical crap! Anything in life that is worth anything usually takes a fair amount of hard work. I learned that many years ago, and when I applied that additude to my music, I was able to make music my “day” job. I haven’t made it big, and I’m not rich, but my 14 acre home is paid off, I don’t owe any big bills or credit cards, and I know what I am going to do when I grow up and/or retire. The lessons I am learning and applying from your Music Marketing Manifesto were what I was missing. Thanks again for doing the ground work, and for sharing what you have learned. It is worth far more than the very reasonable cost of the course. Keep me posted on the “inner circle” thing. I want to be there!
Thanks so much Greg. Very touching. And by the way… If music is your day job, you have made it big. That is a very rare accomplishment. Now let’s just focus on getting you a raise
Thanks again Greg.
Hi
I just wanted to say that I enjoyed your very honest article.
I’m not having problems with anything right now, but I know who to ask if I am. (I did have problems with distribution but have blogged that dilemma and now have a solution)
I believe that it’s really just a lot of hard work, but if it’s what you love then you will want to do it.
I love my job as a musician… warts and all!
H
Amen Helen. Thanks for the comment. Really glad you dug the post.
Thanks John, awesome post! Looking forward to getting in on your new program. I bought MMM several months ago and followed step by step to built my marketing campaign for my new album release. Hard work? Yes! I’m loving every minute of it! And its all working! Squeeze page working, 1,800 fans on Facebook in a month, my list is growing every day and I haven’t even released the album yet. As a result of wanting to integrate all my web portals, I have gotten into building my own websites and am now applying all your methods to my other creative endeavors as well. Thanks John for all your insight and helping me become a stronger more self reliant Artist.
Sully http://www.thesullied.com
Wow, so great to read your comment Sully. Thanks and congrats. 1800 in a month is fantastic. Just make sure that you’re building your email list as well. Facebook fans are great, but there is infinitely more power in an email list. But by all means, both is even better.
Thanks again.
Hey John this is such a cool post and if MMM is anything to go by your new Insider Circle should be one of the best things out there.
I totally agree about perfection by the way…
My first album went totally over budget and nearly split the band because I tried to make it “perfect” and in the end I thought it sounded crap because my ears where burned out. (I love it now
From my point of view it’s best to just get it done and send the bloody thing out the door.
- Chris
Thanks Chris. I totally agree. As I said to someone else recently, I’ve always thought that releasing music was a far more likely path to success than simply recording it
All the best and as always, thanks for the support.
Sounds good John. It’s taken me nearly 50 years to realize it! I went solo three years ago (after 28 years in bands as a guitar player/singer); so no more moaning to each other in a rehearsal room about how unfair the world is. Now it’s nobodies fault but my own; which has been a revelation. I’ve enjoyed your course; but still a bit stuck trying to figure out exactly who I should be marketing to (i.e. if you like this artist, you’ll also like this artist; how can I figure out which bleedin’ artist is similar to me?). Thanks.
Jim
Hey Jim,
Going solo is great. The band can never break up
As far as the whole “sound alike” thing. if you’re stuck on it you can always just pick a different angle, but perhaps the quickest way to figure out who you sound like is to send a free survey out to your list. You can easily set one up with SurveyMonkey.com
Just ask your existing fans and friends and go with the top 2 or 3 artists.
You can also keep things a lot more general and just stick with singer songwriters in general.
Hi John – fantastic post (I’m trying not to say “great post” – heh).
I REALLY share your frustration. I am not a musician, so have no music to sell myself. My partner and I are sound engineers, so have worked with lots of musicians, and know many of them really well.
I was immersed in the Wordpress/blogging world for a couple of years, so grasped straight away the value of the methods you and Greg Rollett have been teaching (I bought MMM and NME) when I discovered them a few months ago, and I have been really excited by it. Since then I have been enthusiastically telling quite a few musos about your’s and Greg’s material, but have been quite surprised at the blank stares and head shakes and so on – you know what I mean.
Sigh – Robin
Hey Robin. I do definitely know what you mean.
Thanks for passing on the word. Greg is great. Glad you found his stuff as well.
Thanks again.
J
{ 1 trackback }