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Promotion
More outlets than ever before: “The pipelines are more open than ever in terms of the Web. Anyone can follow you and buy your music more easily than ever before using Facebook, iTunes, Twitter, and music videos on YouTube. However, it also makes it harder to stand out among millions of other artists. That’s why today’s independent artist has to be more hardworking and clever than ever before.”
—Dan Merlot, placement specialist
Turn your van into a billboard: “Park a van or truck that has a banner on it across from a show of a similar act. Every fan entering or exiting the venue will be aware of you.”
—Bobby Owsinski author, engineer
Make your contests worth something: “The best contests ask [fans] to do something creative instead of raffling it away. That’s fun. Like, what about a contest where there was a poster that you could print and fans had to put it in a weird place and take a photo of it?”
—Pelle Almqvist of the Hives
The Label Grapevine: “Develop your fan base, do as much as you can on your own and labels will come looking for you. Usually a manager who we have a relationship with or a record store guy is [how we find artists]. That doesn’t mean don’t send your music directly to a label. Send something focused that you think will get your point across. You don’t want to give the full-blown picture. You want to create a bit of mystery and make people want to dive in on their own.”
—Glenn Dicker, Yep Roc Records
Thinking Globally: “I get asked all the time, ‘Do you think our product’s going to sell internationally?’ International is not one country. Your product might not sell in Australia, but it will in Europe. [You] can go on a territory-by-territory basis. There are opportunities outside of the United States. Life does not begin and end in the U.S. and there’s money to be made.”
—Chris Callahan, Planetworks
Find a way to connect: "A company can't sit around a table and say how they can make people like you. As an artist, you have to emotionally connect. It can't be manufactured. It can't be put together in a boardroom. That has to be by virtue of the fact that the music really connects with people."
—Amanda Palmer, artist
Get Personal: “If you’re an artist today and you’re not going to take a personal approach, some other artist is going to out-compete you.”
—Steve Rennie, Renman Music and Business
Get a sponsor: “If you like a brand and use it, find someone who can get that brand’s attention. Explain why they need to sponsor you, that your audience will buy the product. Explain that you can sell the product by doing promotional pieces, in-store signings or a commercial. You will do video chats or create a 30-second spot they can run on the Web. It’s all about remembering that you are doing this as a partnership.”
—Brett Palmer, President/CEO, AbiJack Management
Give it away: “Don’t underestimate the value of something free. Fans love free items, either as part of a package (for example, buy a CD and get a T-shirt free), part of a contest, or just being one of the first five fans to email. Sometimes items of seemingly little value have a wide appeal. Backstage passes, seats on stage, passes to the sound check, invites to a meet-and-greet and downloads of live songs are all prized by real fans.”
—Bobby Owsinski, author, engineer
