Standing Out In A Saturated Market

These days, the music industry is an open playing field.  Technology and the internet have lowered costs of recording and promoting music.  Many artists can learn enough skills to record their music and promote it on their own.  We no longer need record labels and large distribution companies to afford recording and marketing.

The upside to this is that there are few boundaries for independent artists.  Anyone can be an artist and get their music out there.  

The downside is that the market is heavily saturated.  There are so many artists releasing music and other content constantly that you have to find a way to stand out.  You have to find a way to be noticed.   

GREAT Content is Key.

We are now a content-based society.  Netflix, Youtube, Instagram, Facebook….we want new content daily.  It is important for you to be creating new content regularly, but it is also important to figure out how to make your content uniquely stand out.  Everyone can put out cover songs  and post daily inspirational photos, but how can you create something that resonates with people?  People want to know your story and why you make music.  Create content that means something and create it consistently.      

Put in the extra effort to create something that is unique to you.   You could create a video series about how and why you write songs or a video series documenting your tour and how you connected with fans at your shows.  Come up with something that fans look forward to seeing every week or every month.  Make something meaningful.

Reach out to fans that you already have and make them friends.  It’s more important to connect with just a few actual fans than it is to get 1,000 likes on an attractive photo from people that don’t really care about you.  After you create a few real fans by them getting to know you, they will tell their friends.  Over time, this will snowball into a larger fanbase.        

Don’t wait until everything is perfect.

As artists, we can all be crippled by perfectionism.  While you should go the extra mile to put out great content, you also shouldn’t wait until everything is completely perfect every time.  I work on a lot of projects with artists that get finished, and they wait for months or a year to release any of the music because they are waiting for the perfect time for a label or manager to help with the release.  These artists could be using their music to build their brand and their fanbase.  As time goes on, they’re also not getting any younger.   Waiting on the perfect timing can slow your progress and cause you to miss opportunities.  

Make your music as great as you can and release it.  Use all of the resources that you have access to and get it out there.  We all have old projects that we look back on and see that we could do better.  As you grow, you’re music will get better, and your fanbase will grow with you.

Your live show is more important than ever.

What is the one way that you can most uniquely connect with fans?  Your live show.  Live music is more important than ever when it comes to creating actual fans.  Music fans still love live music, and they are still willing to pay to see good live music.  People still want to connect with real humans, and your live show is where you can be the most YOU.     

Invest extra time and money into your live show to make it something that the audience will remember.  Whether it’s awesome visuals with lights and video, a backing band of killer musicians or larger than life backing tracks, take the time to come up with something that is a memorable experience.  Music fans won’t forget a great performance that resonates with them.     

I’ve seen artists spend thousands of dollars on making a pristine sounding record and then put little effort into preparing for performance or making their performance stand out.  You’re more likely to make actual fans by a creating memorable live show than making a great record. Fans are willing to spend more money on live music than recorded music.  If fans have a memorable experience at your show, they will come back next time and will be willing to pay.  

Create something more than just your music.

I believe branding is the key to making it as an independent artist, and I talk a lot about it.  Branding is extremely important for all of us...artists, producers, engineers, studio owners, etc.  We have to showcase what makes us special.  We have to show that there is something deeper than just the music we create.

It’s easy for pretty much anyone to create and release a good recording, so you have to show something more than just your music to connect with people.  Be creative and come up with ways to represent your brand and uniquely connect with fans.