As most of you reading this probably know already, Adele
recently released a new album. Let me
just stop here and congratulate those of you who don’t know this as you are the
only people I know to be sufficiently removed from pop culture to be able to
claim that you have a life. For the rest
of us, read on…
I was watching Adele perform her new single on Saturday
Night Live with my wife, and after listening to it I said to her: “I get that
the songs is good, and she is a great singer, but I can’t help but wonder why
this gets insanely famous while other music that I like so much more never even
hits the charts.” This led to what
usually happens to me; I try to analyze as objectively as I can the subjective
whys and why nots of art.
I am the first to admit that Adele is an exceptionally
talented singer. I can also say that her
songs are crafted to the highest standards of songwriting, at least in the
popular music domain, that the production of her albums is top notch, as is the
skill of the musicians in her albums. So
why is it that I do not, nor will I probably ever, care enough about her music
to buy her albums or go to one of her shows (or even bother to sit through a televised
performance for any reason other than being too lazy to get up and do something
else). So here’s what I finally came up
with: chemistry. I am talking about the
same intangible chemistry you refer to when trying to explain to a friend why
the relationship with a dreamy, hot, intelligent and financially successful romantic
candidate did not work out.
Think of why you like the music that you like. Some people might say because it is good to
dance to, or because it is relaxing, or because it pumps them up. Whatever the reason cited, it can be boiled
down to how that particular song, artist, or style makes them feel or, as I put
it, whether or not the song, artist or style “speaks” to the particular listener. At the end of the day, it has very little to do
with production value, musicianship skills, literary value, etc., except in the
case that any of these makes a person “feel” one way or another.
This all creates a very real dilemma for independent
musicians when it comes to how to market their music. The major artists, such as Adele, have a
business machine behind them that ensures that masses of listeners will have
multiple chances to hear their songs and hopefully make the connection. You will hear her songs on SNL, on James Bond
movies, on commercials and in ringtones, to name a few. While I
am sure that, like me, there are many others that even if you locked them in a
room listening to Adele records over and over, would likely emerge still not
liking the music, Adele’s sales have proven that she connects with a gigantic
mass of people. But independent artists don’t have the business and marketing
machine behind them. We are left to our
own devices to figure out how to not only identify, which is a vastly
complicated task in and of itself, but then to reach out to the audience that
our music may make a connection with.
I don’t have sage advice for the indies on this, I can only
tell you how, in my infinite ignorance, I approach it. As I heard in a recent industry seminar, you
have to start with the song. If you can’t
write a good song or a hit (not always the same thing, that’s why I make the
distinction), then no matter what you do or how big of a machine you have
behind you, financial success will not follow, at least not sustainably so
(read Gangnam Style). If and once you
have a good song, let’s call it “the product,” then you should develop a
strategy to spread that song in ways that maximize opportunities for an
audience to hear it. Your strategy needs
to be sensible and logical; notwithstanding Judas Priest’s cover of Diamonds
and Rust, you should probably not include in your plan live performance at the
local heavy metal joint if you are a folk singer-songwriter.
Here three initiatives you should consider in your strategy:
1.
Live Performance Initiative. The power of live performance cannot be
understated and you should be particularly careful not to undermine your
product by delivering a poor or misguided live act. It is through live performance that an
audience makes a connection with the artist, not just the song. So you should be conscious of developing your
brand, which includes the aesthetic presentation of your live show as well as
your delivery. I wear a hat. Not always the same hat, but always with
aesthetic consistency to the image I am trying to project. I also always dress in dark colors and make
sure I don’t shave for a few days prior to a show. This is all consistent with maintaining form
to the brand I am selling: the gruff, whiskey-infused philosopher. The name I came up with for my act is
memorable and I have received very positive feedback from industry
representatives: Banjo Bones. It always
begs the question, what does it mean? You want to keep the conversation about
your act alive. Finally, you should have
the utmost respect and appreciation for your audience. There is no such thing as too small of an
audience when it comes to your show. As
an example, I recently had a gig at a remote venue and the show only drew 6
paying customers. I happened to be really
“on” that night and delivered one of my best live performances ever. I noticed a lady that got up during my set
and danced to my music (which is hardly dance music). After the set she bought my CD and asked me
to sign it for her. She then joined my
Facebook page and she went out of her way to ask me to let her know when I was
back in town and to let me know that she would reel in friends to my next
show. To me, that was a very successful night. Had I delivered a half-assed presentation, I
may have missed out on the great opportunity to make a new fan and supporter.
2.
Airplay Initiative. While live performance is the historically
tried and true way of “spreading the word,” it is by no means the only
one. Although its value is highly debated
and disputed, radio stations still claim, based on statistics they say, that
traditional radio continues to be the number one means by which fans discover
new music. There are promotion services
that, for a fee that varies between two and three digits, will distribute your
music to a network of stations in their portfolio. None of these services can guarantee airplay,
but I do believe that a station is more likely to play something that has been
referred to them by some of these services than they are if they receive the
same material directly from the artist; if for no other reason than the ongoing
prejudice that if you don’t have “the machine” behind you, then you’re probably
a “nobody” and undeserving of their time and attention. There are exceptions to this, especially in
the smaller markets, but it is still an unfortunate reality for the most
part. Whether you go through a promoting
agency or you decide to plow forward on your own, there are ways to improve
your chances to get airplay. The obvious
one is to target stations that play material that is stylistically similar to
yours. This can be based on the station’s
programming as a whole (i.e. a Country Station), or specialty programs they may
have (i.e. “the Blues Hour with DJ Famous”).
Be ready for rejection, which will come in the form of “thanks, but not
thanks” in the best cases, or in a traditional cold shoulder, which is what
most often happens. Keep in mind that, like
job hunting, this is a numbers game: the more contacts the better your chances.
3.
Media Reviews Initiative. There is another type of specialized
promotion service that you can tap into: the media reviews. There are promotions services that, again for
a fee, will distribute your release to a network of printed and virtual media
organizations for review. They also
cannot guarantee that their network will review your release, or that if they
do it will be a positive review, but I do believe that like the radio station
promoters, they have a better chance of getting you material reviewed than if
you send it directly. One important word
of caution: the vast majority of mainstream printed media actually operate in a
combination of the printed format, enhanced by virtual content in their
website. Many of these will reach out to
you once they have written the review, and tell you that because of the volume
of reviews, they can’t guarantee yours will reach the printed edition and may
be only posted in their website along with two thousand other reviews. They then proceed to offer you the
opportunity to increase the power of the review by securing advertising space
in their publication (maybe printed, most likely virtual). Now I am not suggesting that there are no
benefits to advertising, nor am I accusing these publications of being underhanded
in their approach. I am simply
suggesting that you make well informed decisions. Ask them if your purchasing an ad will guarantee
your review reaching the printed media, and if your ad is guaranteed to be on
the printed media irrespective of the review.
Once you know the answers to that, then you can decide if you still wish
to proceed with the ad or not. There are
benefits to these reviews beyond the outreach to potential new fans. Specifically, you can use quotes from these
reviews, along with the reference to the publication and author, in your
website and other promotional material.
This gives you another layer of formality and credibility. So don’t be so quick to disregard the virtual
reviews in the 2k+ database they can still be useful. The good news is that publications that are
inclined to offer you ad space will likely only do so if the review is a good
one. You get my drift…
These are just three examples of how you can increase the
mass you are targeting. You may not be
anywhere near Adele masses, but you will certainly go beyond the mandatory
Facebook announcement to friends that probably already know you have a new CD
out, many of which have no intentions of buying it and expect a free copy.
One final word of advice…
Artists, and I am not exception, tend to see their creations as
children. We nurture and protect them, and
treat them with care. We get personally
offended at the mere suggestion that our songs are not someone’s cup of tea,
and we protect them with the bravado of standing up for a damsel in distress. Big name artists can afford to stay in this
state of mind perpetually, but the same is not true for indies if we want to
reach any level of commercial success and stay independent. As soon as the creative effort is over, we
must remove our creative hats and put on our business hats. We must look at our creations as product to
be pushed and pedaled, and give them every opportunity to reach commercial
success. We must avoid the tendency to
blow our entire financial wad in the creative process (i.e. recording, mixing,
mastering, and packaging), and be cognizant that in order to reach critical
mass we must invest in promotion, advertising, marketing, etc.
As you embark on your next recording project, think of this
and make sure to consider it in a mid to long term budget. You owe it to your good song to give it the
best opportunity to succeed financially.
Rock on Boneheads!
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