Have you ever heard the popular phrase “First Impression is a Lasting Impression”? Well, I’ve found that to be true, especially in the business of music and entertainment. The music industry consists of not just the recording, but the managing, production, creating, performing and marketing of each song. In our current digital age, most music is at the fingertips of the masses. If not illegally downloaded as pirated MP3’s, it is often streamed by services like Spotify who pay fractions of a penny to the label per listen, and depending on the contract, even less to the musicians who created the content. So how does the average musician make money these days if not by record sales? How does one get noticed in the over saturated pool of anyone and everyone who has a laptop and a microphone? It will be my attempt in this article to propose some answers to these questions.
As the CEO of Grace and Peace Records, I’m writing from the perspective of an Indie label owner; however this information can easily apply to independent artists as well. With so many artists now able to record their music in their own makeshift home studios, using VST’s and Plugins to produce, mix and master their own music, it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle. This is where presentation is important. In order to put yourself in a position to stand apart from the rest, your music should first, be professionally mixed and mastered so that it sounds as good as, if not better than, what is being played on the radio. A nice chunk of your budget should be placed on the sound. Secondly, and maybe even more important, is to ensure that all of your artwork is top notch. This includes album covers, single covers, online promotional ads, video promos and music videos. The indie label Collision Records, for example, released a video album, that used each song on the album to tell a story and turned that into a short film. The key is to build an audience, even if you are giving music away for free at first; yes, you may have to give the music that you labored so hard for away, your very livelihood, but this will not be in vain. Look at it as an investment.
When you present yourself in this way, you will attract people to your music. One artist, Tobe Nwigwe, recorded a new song every week and produced a well thought out video which he released every Sunday. He did this on his own dime and after a year or so his music gained more momentum, he developed a following, and now can be seen in commercials for the NBA and was recently featured on NPR’s Tiny Desk Sessions. The objective here is to develop a brand, and then use that brand to create other streams of revenue. Since record sales no longer cut it, you will find most of your revenue will come from merchandise like apparel, tours and concerts (or during the pandemic virtual concerts), and even coffee. Yes, coffee, as indie HipHop label HumbleBeast began selling using their popularity and “hipster” following to create their own blends of coffee and barista products called “Left Roasters”. Once you have that community, and learn your community, you can now create products and services that cater to that community. At this point you should be able to recognize your target audience, and will learn how to send messages to receive and interpret their feedback. This will help you as you begin to develop new products, tweak current ones, build upon your brand and market your goods and services more effectively. This should lead to increasing your fan base and retaining those fans who were there early on.
This is not an easy process, it may not happen overnight, but it is worth it if you want to live your dream as an artist and use your talents to make a successful living. You don’t even need much overhead to start. Work on your social media sites, engage the fans you now have, offer contests, trivia, and/or giveaways. Eventually that small fan base may grow, until you are able to create a space for yourself within the entertainment industry and your return on investment will increase exponentially. This is all assuming you have talent, but then again, some would say that these days you don’t even need musical gifts to make it. Remember not to cut corners, and never forget that your first impression is a lasting one.