The Long Game

I fall into the millennial generation, and most of the artists I work with do also.  In our culture, we don’t want to have to wait for anything or work towards any long term goals.  We want to become famous quickly without having to build anything over time.  As many of us are “finding ourselves” in our twenties, we drift around when we could be using our years of less responsibilities to build a lasting brand.  We want to become overnight Youtube stars and spend money on things to become famous quickly when we should be playing the long game.  

Most new artists that are spending lots of money on recordings, music videos and other expenses don’t have any plan to make that money back.  They do the things that they think they need to do without any realistic plan to make the money back.  It’s great to do music as a hobby, but if your goal is to be a full time artist, you need a long term plan to make a profit.  

There’s no shame in having to work a full time job and do music for several years while building a brand and a following.  I still work a full time job that provides insurance and other benefits.  I make enough money from music that I could quit my job right now, but having the benefits and extra money has given me security, flexibility, and money to buy gear and make other investments.  It’s tiring, and it does take some endurance and determination to work two full time jobs, but I want to make the transition at the right time.

10 true fans are much more valuable than 200 Facebook followers.

The independent artists that I’ve seen become successful figured out how to connect with people and build a following of true fans that will stick with them in the long run.  10 true fans that you made at a show are much more valuable than 200 Facebook likes you got from an expensive PR campaign. These 10 fans are likely to continue supporting you as you release new music and will continue to come to your shows. They will also tell their friends about you.  This organic growth grows exponentially as time goes on.

Last year I recorded an album for my friend Nick DeLeo.  He is one of the hardest workers that I know, a great guy and an artist that is great at connecting with his fans.  The album cost $10,000, and he funded it himself by working his butt off.  As of this month, he has sold 2,600 albums.  At $10 a piece, that’s $26,000 in gross sales. He has made a $16,000 profit in the last year and is continuing to make sales. Most of these sales have been from him connecting with fans at shows and making a lot of friends. That’s a pretty good chunk of income, and his growing fan base will buy the next record he makes and the one after that.  His social media followings may not seem impressive, but he is making more actual money than artists with far more followers.   It’s because he has made ACTUAL FANS.

PR is a waste of money for new artists.

One mistake I see many new artists make is hiring a PR company to promote their new music when they don’t already have a following.  PR companies usually cost thousands of dollars to run a campaign even for a month or two.  The goal is usually to get new music on blogs and other web publications.  The campaign may get some good blog reviews of the artist’s new release and social media numbers may go up, but these likes and followers usually do not turn into true fans or any actual profits.  

The online music market is so saturated, and there are so many blogs that it’s not usually worth the money to be featured on them if you have to pay for it.  It’s definitely beneficial to submit your songs to as many relevant blogs as possible. Find ones that are the right fit that want to feature your music.  

Unknown artists using PR to create fans is just like hiring a manager when you don’t have anything to manage.  After you build up a following, I think PR can be beneficial, but it’s a lot money that could be used for building your brand in the long game.  

Brand yourself.    

Branding is a subject that needs it’s own blog post...or a book.  I’m not an expert on branding, but I have figured out ways to brand myself.  As a producer, I have improved my branding by focusing on my own sound and spending my time pursuing projects and clients that are the right fit for me.  I also try to let artists know that I am interested in helping their careers rather than just trying to make money off of them.  

Artists need to find something more than just their music that represents them.  This can be something they stand for, a certain culture, a movement….anything that connects with people.  

My friend Nick DeLeo is from Cape Cod, MA, and he writes a lot of songs that are about that area.  He writes songs about being country and from the North.  He has branded himself in this specific niche. Most of his following is in the Cape Cod area, so he plays most of his shows there and continues to build up his following in that area.  He lives and works in Nashville most of the time to make music industry connections and perform in town, but goes back to perform in Massachusetts often.  

Building up your brand gives you LEVERAGE.

If you build a following of true fans, this gives you leverage if you are approached by a record label or management company.  Most record labels won’t sign a new artist nowadays unless the artist already has a following.  If you have a big following that you’ve created on your own, you can use that as leverage to negotiate a better deal with a label or management company.  

I don’t think it should be any artist’s goal to get a big record deal.  The internet has allowed there to be many more working-class full time artists than ever before.  Also, labels no longer have a lot of money to invest into artists to test them out, so if you get signed, the label may end up not doing much for you if you don’t immediately take off.

If the right opportunity comes along from a label or large company, you'll be prepared with some leverage if you've built up your own brand.   

You can do so much on your own if you continue to connect with fans and make the best use of your money.  It’s much more realistic to make a comfortable living as an independent artist than to be super famous.

Stay in the long game.

I’ve known a lot of artists that aren’t artists anymore because they didn’t have a quick return on the effort that they invested into their career.  It takes a lot of consistent hard work to make it as an artist. Like I said earlier, it’s great to do music as a hobby, but if your end goal is to make a living (it is realistically possible), then you need a long term plan.