I was talking to my friend Corey last night about how to promote his band’s (Said Gun) music. We both agreed that there has been a trend of band’s releasing music for free. Another increasing trend that we noticed was that more and more bands are inviting fans to FREE concerts and private performances. Corey is a smart guy, and he knows what his band needs to do to get the name out, but in the same right, his band may not fully understand the importance of FREE distribution. I’m not dissing his band (I’m related to one of the guitarists/singers), I’m just going to use them as an example of classic thinking versus progressive thinking.

At face value, these new trends seem counter intuitive to the music industry’s business model. Bands are in the business of making music (and generating income from their music). Well, times are changing. Marketing is changing. The cost of producing music is going down (with technology rapidly improving), all while the cost of distributing music is cheaper than ever (with the current popular standards). So in reality, there is not that much overhead if you are producing and distributing music anymore, unfortunately, some bands don’t realize this.

Example: Ok, Corey and my brother Ben (along with 2 other dudes name Rynn and Joe) are in a band named Said Gun. Every member of the band has been in several bands for over 10 years, and they know the “old” way of getting their music out there. They write songs; rent studio time; press CDs, tapes, and maybe vinyl; they book shows (usually $5 per head); and they work together with other local bands to promote each other. This is a great way to get music out there, but is it the way that the modern consumer listens and consumes music? Nope!

1) Tapes are not even a logical option to distribute music
2) CDs can still be sold at shows, but are not a good product for mass distribution
3) Vinyl is awesome, but no one buys it (except die-hard music enthusiests)
4) Digital Downloads are the way that almost everyone gets their music these days
5) Itunes.. Ummm Duh

This is what Trent Reznor posted on the NIN forums:

Forget thinking you are going to make any real money from record sales. Make your record cheaply (but great) and GIVE IT AWAY. As an artist you want as many people as possible to hear your work. Word of mouth is the only true marketing that matters.

To clarify: Parter with a TopSpin or similar or build your own website, but what you NEED to do is this – give your music away as high-quality DRM-free MP3s. Collect people’s email info in exchange (which means having the infrastructure to do so) and start building your database of potential customers. Then, offer a variety of premium packages for sale and make them limited editions / scarce goods. Base the price and amount available on what you think you can sell. Make the packages special – make them by hand, sign them, make them unique, make them something YOU would want to have as a fan. Make a premium download available that includes high-resolution versions (for sale at a reasonable price) and include the download as something immediately available with any physical purchase. Sell T-shirts. Sell buttons, posters… whatever.

Ok, I am not a huge NIN fan, but I do think that Trent Reznor is a brilliant musician and he is really good at retaining a fanbase.

The key is: Build a fanbase, and make money once you have the fans. If you try to make money while obtaining a fanbase, you’ll have a tough time. Play free shows whenever you get the chance. You can probably sell more shwag that way, because people will have more money than if you charged them at the door, plus, people are more likely to go to a show that doesn’t cost them anything versus wasting money on a show that they may not like.

Which bands are doing this?

Well, there’s no formal list, but about 5 minutes of research has compiled a short list of top notch artists. I literally just took the first few names that Google produced in a search.

  • Radiohead
  • Moby
  • U2
  • John Mayer
  • Nine Inch Nails
  • and many others…

You may not like any these bands, but you do not want to discredit them for what they are doing. They are all very successful, and have maintained longevity in the music industry. They know how to change with the times, and you can learn a lot from watching them evolve as not only musicians, but as promoters and marketers.

By offering free music and shows, it creates hype and people get really excited. The bands listed above do it for the same reason that Tony Hawk does free giveaways every week, and the same reason why Eminem did a HUGE scavenger hunt last month. The reason? Social marketing. Word of mouth marketing is the biggest thing right now, because with all of the social media outlets available, you can spread your word to thousands of people in minutes (if you do it right).

Classic Promotion versus Progressive Promotion

The Classic Promoter: They like music the way they had it growing up. If they liked to listen to music on tapes, then their fans will like the same thing. They enjoy passing out fliers at the mall and inviting their friends to local shows (once you’re out of high school, your audience will shrink using this method). The classic promoter thinks that all of these digital distribution methods are a fad, and once people realize that CD’s, Tapes, and Records are better to listen to, they will be willing to go to the pawn shop and buy a player that supports the media (sorry for the sarcasm, but seriously, where else can you buy a tape player these days?). The classic promoter also thinks that by giving stuff away for free is a bad idea. They are in music to make money, so why would they throw money away like that?

The Progressive Promoter: This promoter wants to study his potential audience. He will do WHATEVER it takes to get people in the door. If he has to spend a little money to build a fanbase, it’s long-term payoff will be worth it. The progressive promoter is up on the trends, and embraces industry changes as they apply to their methods of distribution. The progressive promoter understands social media.

My point here:

I’m not trying to throw anyone under the bus here. I love music. I love tapes, cds, records, mp3s, and everything else music related. I live in the times, and I honestly can’t remember the last time I bought a CD. Now time for my point, I’ll use an analogy:

My Analogy:

When I was a kid, 8-tracks were the equivelent to what tapes are today. They were obsolete technology. I don’t remember any bands in the 80′s or 90′s trying to push out records on an 8-track, and if they did, it obviously didn’t work. It would have been bad business.

WOW, I veered way off-track oon this one. Let me sum everything up by saying this: You can no longer build a fanbase selling stuff. You have to give it all away for free! People love free, and free WORKS!

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