Building a Brand/Promoting a Music Artist

[OshiBelfort]

I've always been curious whether it was truly feasible to market for musicians as music seems like such an oversaturated market online in terms of constant comments everywhere begging for listens to the difficulty artists have in getting on music blogs. I was wondering what the veterans/geniuses here would do if you were say trying to promote an artist or their music from the ground up and build a "brand".

 

[contract]

Music brand site that doesn't auto play music. ✓

Buy tons and tons of music site play counts to make you look popular. ✓

Promote videos on YT, reply to all comments, build fan base. ✓

Join every music profile site out there. ✓

Outreach on scale, and I mean on fucking scale. ✓

Go to music corps try to get a deal. ✓

Go to concerts/stalk down famous musicians. Talk your way into getting them to work with you. ✓

Host public shows in crowded places. (Try to go viral, think piano guy in airport) ✓

Run campaigns like "See why all Drake's fans are leaving him for rapper Contract. You won't believe what you hear!" Target their FB fans. (That genre data) ✓

Make music that doesn't suck. ✓

Bulk buy 100,000 demo CDs. Go to concert... Wait for everyone to walk-in. Place CDs on their car windows. Label that shit something bold like, "See why all Drake's fans are leaving him for rapper Contract. You won't believe what you hear!" Make people curious to listen. Or fool them, use artists name doing concert. BUT then put all your music on it, lol. ✓

Get your music played at nightclubs. ✓

Whenever you drive in the car, put in a CD of your music. Every 30 seconds have someone be like "MUSIC BY CONTRACT" then continue. (Like a watermark) BLAST that shit down the road daily. Wherever you go. If your are at gas station leave that shit playing. ✓

 

[Ryuzaki]

One approach I'm noticing is that artists are working YouTube hard. They will record and perform cover after cover of every big song that comes out. It's not even about monetizing the videos, but getting exposure over time. All of the video descriptions ultimately link you to their site and promote their original music. You siphon the attention a current hit is getting by covering it. YouTube is a huge opportunity for musicians.

I'd definitely upload to the Soundclick's and Soundcloud's and all of that, but I wouldn't worry about working it very hard.

I agree with @contract when it comes to promoting yourself as a brand and person moreso than promoting your music itself. I'd do the silly things that could go viral than trying to grind it out against the million other capable musicians. We all know that musical talent is not what takes you to the top. I know that labels want to sign an artist who's willing to and is already marketing themselves. It makes their lives easier and more of their budgets go into their own pockets.

 

[Safeword]

I agree with the above mentioned points by Ryu and Contract. If you'll indulge me. I just want to add a few things I learned in a previous life that relate a bit on a meta level.

It's tough sometimes to really get into the mindset of the 'business' of music...when you're the artist. Because most people who aren't artists have a disconnect in what they think it takes to make that song on the radio, and what it really entails.

You may be a writer, a performer, a producer, or a studio musician. You may have written something that you KNOW is good, that resonates, doesn't matter what genre. But you can tell from the reactions around you when you play it in the studio that there is something there. It moves the listener.

Maybe you just woke up and it was crystal clear. Like a cosmic radio station that you were perfectly tuned to. You heard it all in your head, complete, all the parts. Now the clock is ticking to get it down and done right. Arrangement, Recording, Performance, and Mixing are all critical to getting your vision across correctly and any one of those components at any time can fail, falter, or taint the whole end result. It requires intense focus.

The transformation of something you took from your mind into something that will be heard, and will cause an emotional response in people is an amazing feat in and of itself and I applaud anyone who has achieved that goal. Writing a song that clicks is literally mind/emotion control as you are guiding their emotions and what type of film is playing on their internal cinema for 3.5 minutes.

To many people just doing something like that is a dream and you've done it.

But now it really begins.

I'm not going to go into the horror stories that you can read about online. Google "Steve Albini The Problem With Music" that holds just as true today...If not moreso with 360 deals and the like that are around now. Take a look at Max Martins Wikipedia and read up on Clive Davis. Put the pieces together. The artistry is a non-factor to the decision-makers and once you REALLY understand that mindset and grasp that then you're at least prepared. You know whats out there in the darkness.

Almost every person you meet up the chain from when you have your demo in hand or hears you on the internet just wants a piece, a point, or control (see: A&R, Lawyers, Managers, etc..). They may know where it can be 'placed' in a tv show/movie/ etc. They have the contacts to get something they feel they can profit off of and can get passed over the ol' "We Don't Accept Unsolicited Submissions" brick wall. They'll want your publishing (which in the end is the ONLY thing that matters if you're playing the music business game) or they won't even touch your stuff. They have 100's of other demos, bands, acts, that will gladly play ball. (See Steve Albini)

Everything Ryu and Contract suggested are viable things, and they will get you onto the field. They should be done. Just like those Army commercials that make it look like you're stepping into the most awesome experience EVER! The reality is much much different. You just need to be thinking outside the box with something along the lines of the Traffic Leaks mindset . And apply those tactics.


Here is an example:

One artist I know (2007-ish) had a song on an internet radio station. This was a station backed by a few terrestrial radio stations in the midwest. He submitted his CD to the music director of the station and asked him to listen. The station music director really liked it and put 2 songs in rotation. He said the one track reminded him of the breakup he was going thru with his gf. He LIKED it on a personal level.

Well, unbeknownst to my friend this station, which played a lot of unsigned artists, was monitored by an MTV Music Supervisor. The MS did music recon for songs to put in their reality shows. Why? - because unsigned artists don't have the high royalty rates that signed artists would have with a label, manager, etc..

So what happened? One day he got a call from someone that they wanted to license his material for a few tv shows. And guess what? He had all of his own publishing, instead of signing it away to someone huckster promising promises for a fee, so he was able to do that, and to this day...he still gets a small quarterly check for those from BMI.

Now why did that happen? Because his music was exposed to people in the music business -who could make decisions- and the person LOVED the record. Which is something you CANT buy. If someone LOVES your material, like listens to it in their car, and that someone is in the business...that is worth GOLD. And this person was just a lowly music supervisor who turned it on to their boss, without the artist even knowing, and BOOM.

Epilogue:

Now that MS went on to do movies and other projects, and you know what? My buddy got a call several times and had placement in a few films. All because of some small internet radio station.

Now I know that the internet is a different beast now than it was then. But there are still all the people in all the places that make decisions and listen to things - outside the normal 'business' channels' - that are reachable.

Put your head down and be creative. Really think outside box. All the listeners are being saturated. You still NEED to do that to have a presence. BUT find out who/what/where your targetted traffic is. The people (MS, Program Directors, Indie Directors, etc..) that can make something happen. If you find ONE person who genuinely digs your material...

You never know where that road will lead.

SW