When you made the conscious decision to distribute your music to the world, you became a product. Knowingly or not, as an Indie Artist, you are indeed a business owner. Intimidating as that sounds, it doesn’t have to be. There are thousands upon thousands of literature and proven strategies from all types of business owners that already messed up before you so you don’t have to. You don’t have to reinvent anything. You just have to study those that came before you and apply it to your situation. It doesn’t have to be hard. It doesn’t have to be expensive. You can actually do this, YOURSELF. I made a quick list of some of the most basic business principles that you can read up on and apply today.
Every Industry Has Their Own ‘Best Practices’.
Don’t overcomplicate things by trying to reinvent the wheel. There are so many footprints to follow in the music business. Align your journey with those that came before you. Study them. Figure out is working for other artists, network A LOT and get mentors.
If You Want to Make Money, You HAVE to spend Money.
Invest in yourself. Get lessons, coaches, production, engineers, agents, gear, instruments, etc. I promise you, what you won’t be investing in, the next person in line waiting for your spot is definitely doing. Don’t sell yourself short, the details do matter.
Strong Teams Make Better Decisions.
Get HELP. You can do a lot by yourself but adding subject matter experts to your rolodex will enhance your opportunities. For example, if you are a songwriter, you need a producer, band, or singer to perform your song. As an artist, you are the expert at creating music or performing, you will want business experts on your team to handle the marketing, manage your schedule, book your shows, read your contracts, etc.
The Law of Supply & Demand is Real.
You want people to want you and if they don’t, you will have a hard time making any type money off your music. On the other hand, you can blow up like a whale tomorrow and be more in demand than ever.
Bigger Risks = Bigger Rewards.
You heard the saying “Go Big or Go Home”… It’s not a figure of speech, it’s a call to action. A lot of people are so afraid to fail or care what people think so much that they won’t take risks. However, following the trends and doing what everyone else is doing will only get you so far. If you really want to make a true impact or lasting impression, you got to pull out your inner Kanye and push the limit. Being unique in the entertainment business is a GOOD THING. Don’t be afraid to talk YO ISH.
It costs 5x as much to get a new customer than it does to sell something to an existing one.
It’s hard enough to get someone to listen to your music as it is, don’t make things harder on yourself. You don’t have to keep throwing things at the wall to see what sticks, if you already know who is a fan. Learn your demographic, who is listening to you and where. Then market to themmmmmmm.
Customer Service Above All Else.
Treat every fan, follower and audience like they are the most important people in the whole world. Give them everything they want. All social media experts preach these days is engagement, engagement, engagement. How can you get people to engage, if you don’t give them a reason to.
Know Your Market and Competition.
We talked about knowing where you can find your fans, but dive deeper here. Not only do you want to know where they live but how do they consume music? How do they listen to music? You want to book your shows where they live and sell your music where they buy it. Be accessible to your fans. Don’t make it hard for them to find you or they will find your competition. You also want to know what your competition is doing to push themselves because you can fill the gaps to where they are lacking and borrow what is working.
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