There is a huge misunderstanding in the music community today about how an artist must market themselves and build a real fanbase they can rely on. It is not the typical business format like most other business. It is much more complicated.
In this post I will attempt to give you a much more in depth understanding of the processes and differences between the two so artists can take the right measures to have a more successful campaign and build a fanbase.
Typical Business
Typical business has a very simple formula. You have a great product and you have the premises to sell it from. Your Job is to get that message out to as many people as possible and attract customers to you. When the customer arrives it is your job to make their experience as positive as possible and resulting in a sale.
That customer is pleased, tells others and there is a very good chance that customer comes back again. Your Job then is to build a relationship with that returning customer and that's the basic principle of running a good business.
Social media works very well in this type of business as the local community can be targeted for any updates and events in the future. This is a very basic explanation on how it all works but you can clearly see steps in the process to a possible positive outcome.
Artist's business
An Artist's business is a different matter altogether. The first thing they need to determine is the Music they are playing actually good and do people like it. In other words, Does the artist actually have a product in the first place to build a fanbase ?
The second thing is the ability of the artist to interact when performing and after every show. Like-ability factor is huge as the artist goes part and parcel with the whole music experience. You are the Product along with your Music. Many artists do not get this. How many times i have heard its all about the music. They are right but the fan is an essential Part of that.
Gratitude should be second nature to everything you do. Always thank everyone during and after performances. You are building a brand around yourself and mixing with people is a huge part of that. Every single person is important and must be followed up and a relationships created.
Sustaining each relationship can only be done by EMAIL and not Social media. Don't get me wrong Social media is relevant too but it is not personalised enough to build a real relationship with your fan. Let no fan escape you when gigging. Get them on your email list and build that list as fast as you can. Update them each month, send them demo's and ask their opinion, send them invitations to events, make them feel special. Send them stories, pictures, birthday wishes and let them share your wonderful news to their friends and your potential fans.
Set up an Artist / Band fund so you have expenses covered always. every member should be contributing a weekly amount if they are serious about their act. Living on a wing and a prayer is just irresponsible and you will loose out on many opportunities.
Stay away from negative people and acts who bitch and moan about how bad everything is. Always remain positive and if you find yourself in a negative circle. make your excuses and leave quietly.
Never post anything negative on social media. I know it's tempting as this business can be sometimes quite volatile but resist and stay positive. Great pictures, everybody having fun and all is good in the camp.
Don't launch an ep or album until you have a very healthy email list and you have developed a good relationship with your fans. They are the ones that will buy from you and anything extra on social media will be a bonus. You have busted the bank and your energy on your Music so give it the best possible chance of success and build a fanbase.
Dare to Reach the pinnacle and shoot for the Charts. The time has never being better in fact and selling as little as 300 Cds in a single week could get you on the official charts. Put your Music into a national store and have your email fans ready to purchase so each sale is registered for the official Charts. It's not impossible if you did your homework and built a good fan base.
Artists that have reached the charts get noticed. Radio, media, agents, labels, festival interest is the result of a good chart entry.
I could talk about this for pages but I hope you are seeing a way to climb in this complicated business. Full of misconceptions and confusion. Its doesnt have to be like this.
See yourself as a sales person and you are simply finding customers and telling them all about you , your Music and your Journey. Each Customers is there ready to be part of your team and wants you to do well. All you have to do is involve them on a more personal level so they get to know you and your Music.
Family and friends is a good place to start. Collect them at every opportunity and keep them by emailing them once or twice a month. Mailchimp is one the the best free Email marketing platforms and its free to use. If you need anymore advice on how to begin then contact me.
Here is a Youtube Video I found from an artist who uses Email Marketing.
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Jimi Cullen is an Irish Singer-Songwriter, Musician, Producer & Recording Artist. His music was once described as "what you might get if Bob Dylan had a baby with John Prine and fostered it out to Neil Young and Woody Guthrie" and, to be fair, it's pretty hard to argue with that upon listening to some of his songs.
Jimi Cullen's music is indeed steeped in the same folk traditions and songwriting sensibilities of the above four. From humorous songs about love & small minded assholes a la Prine to snarling protest songs in the vain of Guthrie and Dylan, straight through to some good old fashioned Rock & straight up Country that tips a definite hat to The Godfather of Grunge himself, Neil Young.
Yes, Jimi Cullen is definitely from the old school style of singer-songwriters. Pure, honest songs, from the heart, without the bullshit, take it or leave it.
That's not to say though that Jimi doesn't have an original sound of his own, in fact, quite the opposite is true. Jimi's music has a refreshing and often uplifting sound which blends elements as varied as Folk, Rock, Country, Reggae, Spoken Word and many more. He is a renowned performer across Ireland and Europe, both of which he has toured extensively and counts renowned songwriters like Christy Moore, John Spillane and Jim Page among his many fans.
He has even shared the stage with both Spillane and Page on several occasions as well as the likes of Damian Dempsey, Paddy Casey, Aslan, David Kitt, Declan O'Rourke and many of Ireland's other top performers.
To date Jimi has released 4 albums, 3 eps & 2 singles including 2014's critically acclaimed LP 'Life' which featured as Roddie Cleere's album of the week on KCLRfm and gained a healthy dose of local and national airplay including several spins on RTE Radio 1's 'Late Date'. Jimi also had some chart success in 2013 when his version of The Cranberries 'Zombie' reached number 2 in the Irish itunes charts.
An avid lover of performing and touring, you can always be sure to catch Jimi traversing the many highways and bi-ways of Ireland & Europe, so why not do yourself a favour and check out one of his shows. He really is one of the last true troubadours.
