The First of 5 Reasons Why Nobody is Buying Your Music

The following is an excerpt from an article I discovered that hits home with most musicians.  There are far too many talented artists out there who work diligently to perfect their craft, yet don't know the first thing about how to market their music effectively. For those of you who ever asked yourself  "How the hell do I get people to BUY my music?!" this and the following 4 blog postings are for you.

By the way, I'll be posting this article in 5 segments since the whole article is a bit more than you might want to read in one sitting.  Besides, you've got songs to write and rehearsals to make (I hope).

If you’re reading this site, then you are probably in the business of selling music in some way, shape or form.

As most of you will know, trying to get an audience to part with their hard-earned money is no easy task, and when sales aren’t as high as you would have liked it can be discouraging.

But before you set fire to your songbook and sell your equipment, are you sure you’re doing everything you possibly can to get your music out there?

Here is the first of 5 possible reasons why nobody is buying your music, and what you can do about it.

1. Does anyone know?

 

One of the most common problems independent artists face when releasing an album is exposure. Trying to make your product stand out from the millions of other aspiring musicians is a very difficult and daunting thing to do. There is so much music around these days that consumers have an infinite choice when thinking of making a purchase, the chances of them even knowing about your project, let alone choosing to buy it, are extremely slim.

So what can you do to let people know about your music?

First of all you should be promoting the release heavily on your website (if you don’t have a website, stop reading this article and go register your domain!), let everyone on your mailing list know that your album is available to purchase and make sure that when anybody visits your site it’s the first thing they see.

Use social networks such as Twitter, Facebook and Myspace to tell your fans about your album. If someone has chosen to follow you on one of these sites that means they are interested in what you do and want you to update them on your music, so don’t be afraid to send them messages.

Contact websites that could help you reach a new audience, ask them to review the album or interview you. Make posts in forums and have a link back to your website in your signature. Make a video and upload it to YouTube, make it interesting and unique so that people are more likely to check out your music.

Don’t solely rely on the Internet, market your album to your local audience too. Your local fans are much more likely to want to support you because they have a real life connection with you, that’s half the battle already won.

Announce your album during gigs and make sure you hand out business cards with your website on it so that people know where to find you online. If you have hard copies pressed up, sell them on the door along with your other merch (you do sell merch at your concerts right?). Contact local press and see if they’ll cover one of your gigs and plug your record, do this with your local radio stations too.

Do something interesting and different that might get you some press coverage. I’ve discovered quite a few artists just from hearing about some wacky business model they’ve created.

I will go into more detail on this in a later post as the subject is too vast for this post, hopefully you get an idea though.

For help with marketing, managing and/or booking your band/music, email Rich Rox at: info@djrichrox.com

Reference: www.grindefx.com