Question

Topic: Strategy

How Can Music Artists Reach Larger Audiences?

Posted by Anonymous on 3/5/2008 at 3:50 PM ET 125 Points
Hello,
I've recently started consulting music artists. Largely, underground hip hop artists. I'm often faced with a question that I'm not sure how to answer: How do I reach more people?

I don't have a background in marketing and am more of a political consultant for my artists. Their music often carries an important message and they want that message to reach as many ears as possible. But with the current corporate control of the music industry, finding avenues for artists to cross over into the mainstream is difficult.

I want to help my artists as much as possible and am currently racking my brain for different ways for them to reach more people. Any ideas or help would be MUCH appreciated!
To continue reading this question and the solution, sign up ... it's free!
SUBSCRIBE
Or, SIGN IN

RESPONSES

  • Posted by L. Duggan on 3/5/2008 at 4:02 PM Accepted
    You're actually using the most powerful alternative to the music industry...the Internet. The first thing you could do is have them get on MySpace and Facebook and make samples available there. Build a web site with PayPal and direct people from MySpace and Facebook to purchase CD from there. Create a community of users on a blog on the website and encourage people to write reviews about the music and maybe even provide songs ideas. You need to create positive word of mouth about your artists. You can really be creative in coming up with stuff for folks to talk about. Check out my blog often I'll be posting tips on word of mouth.
    www.wordofmouthguru.wordpress.com

    Also, check out the website OurStage. Don’t know about OurStage? It’s the place independent musicians and filmmakers can get discovered, ranked, and rewarded — by the Fans. Not a musician or filmmaker, chances are you’re a fan.


    If this information is helpful, spread the word and let everyone know where you got it from.
  • Posted on 3/5/2008 at 4:21 PM Author
    Thank you for your reply. All my artists have elaborate MySpace pages and Facebooks and are available on iTunes, but I'm not sure about OurStage. I'm about to go check that out along with your blog.
  • Posted on 3/5/2008 at 4:36 PM Author
    After checking out OurStage.com, I thought I should be more specific. My artists already make a lot of money being booked for shows like Rock the Bells and have a solid fan base. So they wouldn't be interested in entering contests to perform for free or to be discovered. They'd just like to expand their audience.
  • Posted on 3/5/2008 at 7:58 PM Accepted
    Engage their fan base, establish a relationship with them. Turn their existing fans into advocates for their music. Give away "Fans only" samples and encourage sharing. In other words, make their existing fans not just feel like fans, but make them feel like they're part of the "Inner Circle". Give them an avenue for interaction, encourage comments on their profiles and blogs, make the fans feel like they're special.

    Also take a look at what Radiohead and, more recently, Nine Inch Nails just did. They sold their albums digitally over the internet and made it AFFORDABLE. (You could download the new NNN CD for a mere $5).

    How do both these examples expand fan base? Easy. People talk.
  • Posted on 3/6/2008 at 2:30 AM Accepted
    You want many audiences to listen your artist song that post to every famous website free too download the best song . and you crate the website or blog for your artist then find the place (club, hotel or school) let artist to perform their music.
    Compare with your competitor that i think it is very important for starting road
    Define your artist special style and product, audience market rang what type of the audiences, what the age range of audiences ... ,
    make promotion in your place to show it
    find the sponsor join your world
  • Posted by saul.dobney on 3/6/2008 at 4:35 AM Accepted
    Touring. Very traditional but it still works - slowly extend the band's reach by running gigs on the edge of their range so you attract new listeners to gigs which have a good audience to start with.

    Plugging. Get to radio and other DJs. Music companies still employ pluggers to get to the radios. Get on MTV.

    Viral. Encourage fans or more underhand, employ people, to build links into other music areas blogs, friends networks etc.

    Stunts. Do something controversial and unusual (increasingly difficult for musicians). Put the video on Youtube.

    Get a record contract with a major. They know better than most how to sell good acts.

    Licence the music. Games, videos, TV or other artists.

    Gossip. Get photographed. Give interviews. Wine and dine jornos. Date someone famous then break up loudly.

    Work hard. To get as many people as possible to hear your music you've got to do as much gigging/publicity as possible. Do some event every day of the week.
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 3/6/2008 at 8:55 AM Accepted
    Seth Godin wrote an on-topic article on this very subject (but for the recording industry):

    https://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/03/the-live-music.html

    There's some very great notions about how to make your fans fanatics and "your tribe".
  • Posted by CarolBlaha on 3/6/2008 at 11:38 AM Accepted
    I will refer you to an expert- contact Monroe Mann who heads https://www.unstoppableartists.com. I got my certification in Guerrilla Marketing with him and was a contributing author in his latest book Guerrilla Networking. He's got great energy and I am sure he'd be of help. You can tell him I told you to call.

    Carol
    Sell Well and Prosper tm
BACK TO TOP

Post a Comment

Related Discussions

Community Info

Top 25 Experts
(Strategy)