My Posts on Music Think Tank
You can also find tons of other great articles by a variety of authors on Music Think Tank
Do most fans really want anything from you other than your music?
I think this is one of the most important questions that we can ask ourselves. Do most fans just want your music, or do most fans want something else from you beyond your music?
Why is this question so important? In a world where music is generating less and less revenue, it’s important to understand what fans truly want; especially if you plan to sell them something other than your music.
The following quote is from Ariel Hyatt’s last post about Twitter.
"People want personality. They want authenticity. They want a genuine look at the person behind the music."
Personality, authenticity, a look at the person behind the music… I am trying to understand who, why, when, what, how and how-many fans (what percentage) would trouble about anything but your music, tickets or t-shirts.
The comments on this post are some of the best comments I have read in 2008. Read the entire post on Music Think Tank
Do great songs really ever go unheard?
I am not talking about good songs, I am talking about great songs. I know good and great are subjective, but can you point to a song that you said to yourself - "that's one of the best songs I ever heard in my life" - and then that song went on to die on the shelf; never to be heard by more than a handful of humans again? Does death by obscurity really happen to great songs, or does lack of traction only happen to mediocre songs?
I am doing some research. Can you show me links to songs you think should have been certifiable hits? Or, just comment on this post.
Read the entire post on Music Think Tank. Note: The comments on this post are excellent also.
The only thing wrong with Music 2.0 is your mental model of how it should work. You need a truckload of money to build economic momentum, labels are running out of patient money, and nobody is going to get any more money; because you and just about everyone else in the music industry, including myself, have been focusing on solutions that solve YOUR needs, and that is exactly where the problem lies. Consumers (the cattle kind), and more importantly, smart money investors don't give a shit about what unfamous artists create. It doesn't matter if you're the next Aerosmith or the reincarnation of John Lennon, our current culture, this place in time, and the economic realities of the music industry are stacked against YOU and everyone that caters to YOUR needs. Read the entire post on Music Think Tank.
Digital music can’t be marketed, it can only be found.
Music is now the most naked product on Earth. Music sits upon the shelf unwrapped, raw and void of packaging. Consumers can fully try it before they buy it; they can take it home unmolested; and they can pay for it randomly, or not at all. I can’t think of another product that is so fully exposed and vulnerable to quick and precise, pre-purchase decision-making as music. You click. You listen. You buy. It doesn’t get any quicker or more precise than that. Read the entire post on Music Think Tank.
Does EMI uniquely understand that enabling and enhancing the music experience is where the money is?
I believe that EMI has uniquely discovered that there is a paradigm shift underway, and they don’t want to be left behind. The days for selling recorded music are numbered (you heard that before). The competition for consumer mindshare is going to be between those that can provide the best music experience for the money. Read the entire post on Music Think Tank.
Using a Momentum-Toward-Celebrity Strategy for Marketing Music
The more momentum toward becoming a celebrity, the more “dominant” an artist appears, the higher the level of commitment any artist obtains from fans. Sadly enough, the opposite seems to be true. Momentum toward becoming a celebrity (or not) is like virtual Viagra; it generates ups and downs for every artist. Read the entire post on Music Think Tank.
1,000 True Fans - Another Perspective
Artist Robert Rich has a very interesting perspective on 1,000 True Fans. Rich claims that the consequence of specialization is extinction. This is a short read worth checking out. Read the entire post on Music Think Tank.
Crowdsourcing for Hits - is it a Mistake?
Crowdsourcing really works well when the sum of the crowd possesses more knowledge than the expert(s); after all, an expert can never know as much as one thousand people (for example). However, when it comes to songs ISN’T ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW in the package? Read the entire post on Music Think Tank.
Create Validate Sell
When you approach validation as an essential task to be executed efficiently, as unbiased as possible, and without prejudice or lasting consequences, you end up reclassifying products or services previously lumped into another pile. Don’t forget to validate your music prior to attempting to sell it! Read the entire post on Music Think Tank.
Save The Earth Use BitTorrent
What if BitTorrent was repositioned as earth saving technology, and every time someone purchased a digital media file they had the opportunity to buy a locally “recycled” file instead of one that was sent from an energy intensive data center located 3,000 miles away? And, what if recycling everyone's “spent” media files could save enough energy to power 1,000,000 homes a year? Read the entire post on Music Think Tank.
