Music vs. Social Media: An Inverse Relationship

So I’m sitting on a bus headed back to Boston after working in NYC all week. I’ve been thinking that social media and the music industry are very similar in many ways, yet are moving in opposite directions.

The music industry has a long history, and until recently, few major influencers. Now the industry is saturated with influence and bringing in way less money. Reaching out to fans and the idea of human connection is fairly new in an industry that was once made of gods that walked and rocked the earth among us mortal listeners. I feel like as an industry we are seriously reaching out, leaving the thrones behind and going back to the people we were born from in hopes of reconnecting and rebuilding commerce.

Social media has always been of the people, and for the people. The human concept has been around since the very beginning. It’s built on reaching out, connecting, and joining the conversation. Yet, as the social media world grows larger every day, major influencers are becoming the rock gods of the past, and they’re making more money as they go.

I’m really curious if the music industry and social media will have a major collision on their paths, and if this crossing of ways will blossom into a new age of art, media and business. Or has this already happened? How do we quantify the magnificence of a new age? It can’t just be about the money. Sure it’s harder than ever to make a buck selling music, but we are truly in a golden age of ideas, advanced technologies, and a true and passionate desire to make things better for everyone. We are just at the beginning of the future of art and conversation, and as we have our struggles to find our way down this evolving path, I think we are quickly and steadily heading towards something wonderful.

5 Tips for Selling Music Online

1.  Use all viable paths:

There are so many ways to sell music, and consumers definitely have preferences. These preferences vary greatly and it’s important to provide retail options for everyone. Selling direct to fans is a growing and wonderful movement, absolutely sell your content directly from your website.  It allows you to connect with your fans on your ground, and generates greater revenue when you cut out all the middle people.  BUT, don’t stop using major retailers such as iTunes, emusic, Amazon, etc…  Your fans will buy directly from you, but you want as much distribution as possible and major retailers are much more powerful venues for exposure and discovery by potential fans. Take advantage of all your options.

2.  Don’t limit your sales to albums and singles:

Scott Cohen and Bob Baker have written about breaking up your albums into multiple EP’s to sell alongside albums and singles.  Scott divided listeners into three categories– New Fans, Casual Fans and Core Fans.  New fans will buy the single, and core fans will buy the album, but without a middle option, casual fans are more likely to buy the single than the album.  Sell an EP for $3.99 and monetize that middle ground in your target.  Sell bundles and let fans pick their favorite tracks.

3.  Give away content:

Every large marketing project I’ve worked on has involved giving away lots and lots of free content.  Check out Spinner, or the majority of music blogs.  You will see that they are packed full of free content from awesome acts, large and small, from all over the world.  It doesn’t matter who you are, or who your audience is, give away content for free.  Get people interested, get them counting down the days until your album is released.  Free content opens up so many marketing paths and gives you a serious advantage.  Make album trailers, hold a fan video contest, engage your audience and get involved with your community by using content as a tool for interaction, not just transactions.

4.  Actively and genuinely connect with your fans:

Treat your fans like the dream company you have always wanted to work for. They are that company.  They sign your paychecks, they promote you to the world, they take you to exotic locations, and they do all this because they love you for you.  They want your influence, your creativity, your direction and your brand.  You are not above them, treat them like they are a part of you, and believe in them like they believe in you. Send them emails, give them free tickets, retweet and respond to them every time they mention you.  

A fantastic band I saw at Terminal 5 in NYC a couple months ago is Little Fish. Little Fish cares more about their fans than any act I’ve encountered for a long while.  The duo from the UK have something called the Little Fish Paper Club, where you sign up, and they hand-make and send you absolutely gorgeous little presents.  All they ask for in return?  Nothing.  There is an opt-in mailing list signup at the bottom of the registration form.  Talk about dedication to fans.  I’m sold twice now.  They absolutely rock so give them a listen and spread the word!

5.  Be wary of third-party fan funding models:

There are all sorts of really exciting ways to generate money for your band on the internet.  One of the most common models right now is goal oriented fan funding through third-party websites.  This can be great, but make sure to investigate thoroughly.  I have several issues with the goal model.  When fans invest, they are not completely certain where their money is going, or when and if it will get to the recipient.  With the goal model, bands don’t get the money until they reach the goal, which could be never.  This creates a very real possibility that your fans have invested time and money in you and will never receive anything in return.  Obviously, that is not good.  Fans can also be reluctant to invest if they see you struggling to reach a goal. More on this soon, expect a dedicated blog post about fan funding.