Content Marketing for musicians
It just makes sense. In every possible way.
Update: check out my new article with more Details on Content Marketing for musicians in this post!
I’ve always been a huge music fan. I’ve attended so many concerts that I stopped counting. I’ve worked for a music & booking agency and I probably spend 8 to 10 hours a day listening to music.
A couple of years ago I wrote my thesis while working for the said German booking and event agency. At the time I focused on one particular aspect: connecting the concepts of customer experience and live music. I do think that too many people talk about how music — whether it is live or recorded - provides an outstanding emotional experience, but too few actually understand what it means for their marketing!
The music business 2.0
I spent months researching stats and data to back up the fact that something was broken.
Access to music has never been easier and yet, sales were going down and many musicians now struggle to make a living out of what we love. The industry’s first reaction was: there are criminals out there who download our stuff! Let’s sue them!
What the industry failed to understand is that the change was happening whether the majors wanted it or not. Suing the pirates was legitimate, nonetheless useless. It showed that the industry did not WANT to move forward.
What did the internet do to music as a product?
You see, music used to be something which wasn’t accessible, unless you owned the physical format which transported the product. It couldn’t be separated. If you wanted to buy music, you had to buy the vinyl, CD or cassette to access it. In the 1990’s two things happened: digitalization and the internet.
The shift in the music industry: from ownership to access.
The digital format separated music from the physical format. It became what it actually is: a non-rival good. A non-rival good is a good you don’t lose when you give it away because it can be consumed by several people at the same time.
And then the internet went mainstream. Suddenly this good was digitally shareable. Within 15-20 years you went from a product which had to be sold on a physical good to digital files spreading all over the world at almost no cost (for listeners).
Therefore labels and musicians have to face a fundamental power shift. The focus went from ownership to access. The truth is: consumers don’t HAVE TO buy music anymore. They choose to.
If you want a simple explanation of the evolution: take a look at Matthew Inman’s drawing [The Oatmeal]
Customers don’t have to buy music. They can choose to though.
So let’s face it. Even if listeners don’t use illegal downloads, they are still going to find ways to access your music without having to pay for it: either via Youtube or streaming services like Spotify and Napster. The day has come to treat music like Content. Content so good, people will want to pay for it, because they care about you.
Establishing a connection with fans has always been the most important marketing asset of bands and musicians. Those who established this connection have loyal fans who are glad to pay not only for the music, but also for goodies, for access to premium content, for merchandise with which they can show that they belong to this community of fans…
Therefore, you have to think of music as content nowadays. It has always been content, however it is more important than ever before, that the music industry understands that they have to do content marketing.
Why Content Marketing might just be the answer
What happens when consumers have the choice between accessing something for free and buying it?
If you think of music as both promotional content and premium content, it could become kind of blurry, doesn’t it? Actually, in this case I don’t think it does!
Music is what got you fans in the first time. Therefore the music still has to be broadcasted. The more the better. When people discover this music, they’ll get interested in the artist. They’ll like the Facebook page, subscribe the Youtube channel or they’ll want to get updates via email.
This is where the artist has the chance to establish a connection so strong, that fans will want to purchase the CD rather than just streaming it on Youtube. They’ll look out for upcoming concert dates, purchase merchandise… Well you get my point.
The holy grail still exists in the music business
As I mentioned earlier in the article: I refuse to think that the music industry is doomed because of the internet. That’s a fundamental mistake. It just can’t be, that more people than ever before consume music — and more of it — and revenues go down. Because the perceived value of music did not plummet. People just have a free alternative.
If artists understand how they can establish this connection, they will be able to make good money with music again. They don’t necessarily have to rely on outdated music marketing tactics. It’s all about customer experience. It’s about understanding the experiential value of music.
Music is not a product. Music is Content. Content is experienced.
I could write on Content Marketing strategies for musicians and artists all night because I think it just might be the answer to many problems these professionals have to face in the modern world. But let’s keep that for another post.
