Tag Archives: music marketing

Entertainment, Music

Quick Cuts: The Gaslight Anthem – ‘Get Hurt’

Leave a comment

Release dates have all but faded into music industry history, to my mind. 

There was a time, probably not so long ago as it now feels,when I’d scour the release schedule – particularly at the start of a new year – to make a mental note of the artists lined up to deliver new music. The Gaslight Anthem - Get Hurt

Between increased productivity from bands, and the battered barriers to entry so unceremoniously torn down by the move online, there’s now so much music coming out that a scheduled release feels more like a formality for the artist than a foundation for the marketing campaign.

Two established bands both proved and rejected that hypothesis for me this week, as I completely overlooked a new release from Mastodon, yet took to Google to find the drop date for the next album from The Gaslight Anthem.

It’s the latter I’ll take a quick look at here, as the two advance singles – ‘Rollin’ & Tumblin‘ and ‘Get Hurt‘ – caught my attention on Spotify and did their job of piquing interest for the main release.

 

The Gaslight Anthem – ‘Get Hurt’

It’s a song I can listen to repeatedly. There’s a quiet beauty… some distant, vague longing… that lends the song a subtle but deep impact.

The lyrics aren’t exactly challenging, but the universal application of Brian Fallon’s laments is perhaps what makes ‘Get Hurt’ resonate so quickly. There’s an inevitability to lines like “I came to get hurt. Might as well do your worst to me.” The refrain speaks to all those times you committed to some course of action in full knowledge that it would probably end in heartache. There’s both comfort and contempt in that unerring alignment of our decisions and fate.

“And maybe you needed change. And maybe I was in the way.” 

More than love, this relates to any important relationship. How often do we see the negative impact of our own selfishness too long after the fact? It’s a call to

And it brings us back to the music industry.

It has indeed changed, and our attachment to previous ways of working have been in the way for more than a decade. As much as I adore record stores and the memories of countless afternoons lost to browsing the bins, Millennials are largely confused by the concept. “But, I can get it all on my phone at home…?!” And there’s no argument against convenience.

When all’s said and done, even though my interest has been stoked by the pre-release activity, I’m still unlikely to buy the physical album. The game has changed. It’s an attention economy now and merely breaking through the noise to be spun and heard is an achievement.

Play the long game: attract ears, aim for spins on Spotify et al, and build lasting relationships with fans. We can still make memories with music, but it’s time to accept that far fewer of them will be through albums and physical releases.

Concepts

Revisiting Direct-to-Fan Music & Merch: Are You Leaving Money On The Table?

2 Comments

Direct-to-fan (D2F) music was one of the first widely lauded advantages of the digital era for independent artists. With barriers removed, musicians could simply create songs, get them online, and connect them straight to listeners with no middle man delaying the gratification process. Nirvana!

Cut Out the Music Middle Man
Image Credit: Jake Johnson

Except that it turns out we need the middle men.

At the very least – and more accurately – we need some standardized channel, because there exists a mass of music and a bewildering variety of ways to process the payment for it.

In these early years, efficient digital stores have risen up to fill the void. From iTunes and Amazon to Bandcamp and CD Baby, paying music fans have chosen convenience over a deeper commitment to their favored artists. This is understandable, given a voracious appetite for music and the ease-of-access that consumers have come to expect from online transactions.

Nonetheless, this need not eliminate the original promise of D2F, to connect artists directly to their most passionate fans and deepen the relationship between them. This includes selling music and merchandise and is an area where most artists are leaving money on the table.

 

Know Your Fans, Narrow Your Focus

At any size an artist needs to develop deeper relationships with listeners, but the extent to which a platform is required to do this will vary greatly according to size and stage of career. For those just starting out, the emphasis will be more on discovery and gaining attention, making the breadth of platforms more crucial than the depth.

As a fan base accumulates, however, too many artists stop short and continue to focus on that breadth, without customizing their art, content, and merch to the most passionate fans. This fails to take D2F to its most beneficial conclusion. Those building the closest ties to fans, offering the most of themselves, lay the groundwork for those same people to spend more time with – and more money on – their music.

By narrowing your focus to that small percentage of your fan base that is intrigued by everything you do, opportunities arise to better understand and cater to their needs…

Are they moved by visuals you present?

Do they react particularly well when you post lyrics to your songs?

Perhaps they praised a specific collaboration or project that you worked on?

When you know the answer to what really gets your core fan base bubbling up, you have a starting point for creatively-minded merchandise and physical records that suit the D2F approach.

 

Separating Merch From Marketing

Although the two are of course inextricably linked, it’s important to remember that D2F music and merchandise is largely to be considered in terms of income. It can be time-consuming to set up anything more than a rudimentary store and will require ongoing maintenance, so both the product and the demand must be there to justify investing in D2F merchandise to any great degree.

Knowing your costs and projecting what you expect to make are crucial factors in deciding just how viable any given D2F product will be.

This doesn’t preclude artists from producing simpler items for fans that can be given away at shows or included as a bonus with other orders, of course. Just remember that these are generally not items with any significant profit margin and, as such, they fall into the category of marketing materials. In the same vein as a show flyer or postcard, their job is to keep you in the minds of listeners for further connection, rather than make money in their own right.

Retaining a focus on cost and sale price helps you to judge what fits into the category of merch that you should sell directly to fans, as opposed to outsourcing the sale to an established digital store front. Limited edition releases and intricate art work related to your music are ideal starting points but this is an area where you can let your creative streak run wild, as the concept of this recent Music Think Tank article explains.

Over To You…

Was the promise of the direct-to-fan model vastly overstated or has it simply been swamped by the generic digital offerings that are presented to music fans today?

What examples have you seen of artists succeeding in offering their fans unique products?

 

Case Studies, Fail Files, Marketing

Facebook Fail? How To Improve Your Music Ads & Shares

3 Comments

Happy Days Fonz Thumbs DownWhat’s a ‘Like’ worth?

Less than a share, if you agree with the latest marketer analysis, but plenty of artists are seeking the thumbs up across social media, with the king of social networks being the most vibrant hub of activity.

Facebook’s place in the realm of music marketing has topped my mind this past week for various reasons. It also seems to be a popular topic for you, with my 25 tips for a friendlier Facebook fan page being the most regularly visited piece here, so I thought I’d focus once more today on the platform everyone that loves to hate.

 

First Up, A Fail

In my opinion at least, this Facebook music advert that I came across recently fails in a few places. Take a look and consider the case for and against:

Facebook Marketing FailPros:

  • Relates to an existing listener passion point with the Dave Matthews link,
  • Integrates an easier call to action with the ‘Like Page’ button (although this is all Facebook, not the artist).

Cons:

  • No mention of genre, style, location, or some other bridge from Dave Matthews to this unfamiliar name,
  • Poor copy writing, with mixed calls to action (conflicting with like button) and awkward flow,
  • Immediate command (to an unfamiliar listener, remember) to buy the album… hold my hand before you grab my bottom, won’t you?!

So it’s easy enough to critique an unappealing ad, but what makes for a more effective Facebook advert?

First things first, consider your options…

 

The Difference Between Facebook Ads & Sponsored Stories

Although Facebook explains its advertising options to a limited extent, both the ad components and the layout of the site itself change on a (frustratingly) regular basis.

Adverts are more explicit statements about your page, often with copy that you write yourself with a specific goal in mind (such as the reader clicking a link or liking your page). They stand out from the usual flow of a user’s Facebook news feed and are labeled as “Sponsored” in the lower post details, both of which can make some people wary of their presence.

The onslaught of ever-evolving ad units since the site’s flotation on the stock market last year has created some resistance to clicking on (and therefore encouraging) obvious adverts, but you can still make some headway with them. For me, they provide the most direct, short and sharp shot into a potential listener’s social feed.

There are also various sub-types of adverts, from the simple “Suggested Page” option that is a basic accelerator for page likes, to promoting specific posts to reach existing fans (and their friends), in addition to the more customized ads discussed above.

Sponsored Stories are more integrated into the fabric of Facebook , showing off activity on existing content from your page rather than the direct copy that you can customize for an advert.

The bonus here is that they “fit” more naturally into the news feed and actions that people are already undertaking, such as commenting on a friend’s activity or liking articles they read, which lessens the resistance that comes from out-and-out adverts. This focus on engagement can be useful for those of you wishing to drive interaction even further on your page, although the content itself is selected by Facebook and you have less customization than you may require.

The other important aspect of sponsored stories is the connection that they make to friends of those you reach, for example “Joe Schmoe likes Band X”. Simply placing a familiar face or name next to an unfamiliar page can bridge the trust gap that paid advertising creates, hence the rising popularity of social media ad campaigns. If you’re trying to reach new listeners, connecting through your existing fans  and on to targeted friends of theirs can be a key advantage of a social ad.

Important Note: Facebook is changing rapidly at the current time and, at any point, distinctions between different types of ad unit may become blurred. Always check the ad preview to understand exactly how your paid promotion is going to appear!

The video below is tailored to deeper business marketing types but still has some valuable snippets for more advanced music advertising, if you’d care to delve even deeper.

Click here if you can’t see the video above.

 

Key Questions to Ask Before You Advertise Your Music on Facebook

Answer the following questions to understand what you direction you want your Facebook advertising to take:

  • What is my main goal from this advert? Examples may be increased page like, engagement, website traffic, music player spins etc.
  • Do I want to reach existing fans or new listeners?
  • Is the ad a standalone test, or part of a wider campaign?
  • What is my daily (or weekly) budget?
  • What is the “call to action” of my ad? (i.e. the step you want people to take and
  • What metric will prove that the action has been taken and can I measure it? (e.g. a Like, which Facebook will report to you, or a spin of a track, which you will need to monitor more closely yourself)

It can be tempting to just dive in with Facebook’s newer ad offerings, as they have plenty of “press play” options popping up alluringly in your page admin section. This simplicity is helpful but you will still benefit from taking some time to consider what you want from your ad spend, where it fits with your other promotional efforts, and how you will measure success.

 

Dig Deeper

This is really only the tip of the iceberg with advertising on Facebook. We can take in-depth looks at ad copy writing, split testing, ad optimization, cross-platform campaigns and results analysis, to name just a few of the areas that may be of use to enthusiastic music advertisers.

What I’d love to know is what level of Facebook ads you’ve undertaken as an artist and whether (and which of) these deeper topics are of interest to you?

Do you want to read detailed how to pieces or just “press play” on those easier ad options that Facebook is now inserting into your fan page?

Let me know in the comments below or e-mail me at [email protected] with your specific questions. I’m here to help!

Marketing

Next Steps Towards Your Virtual Merch Table

1 Comment
Take some notes
Time to review notes & catch up! | Image Credit: Internews Europe

As we close out the month and move into the next phase of Manning Your Virtual Merch Table, let’s take a second to recap and gather together what we’ve learned so far.

For any artists just joining us, this is a great time to catch up on the more conceptual posts, before we dive into practical examples and case studies during April.

This is where we’ve been:

Defining the 4 Ps Music Marketing Mix

Place & People: Finding your fans online

Product & Price: What to sell and how much to charge for it 

Promotion: Adding personality to your music marketing

 

Be a VIP

This month also saw the first Inner Circle newsletter go out, including a private link to bonus material reserved as a special thank you to subscribers.

Get access to that and future updates by subscribing here or entering your details below. You’ll have close access to both the material and, well, me, as I’ll individually check in with every new subscriber to see how best I can customize the series to your needs.


 

Next Steps

It’s all very well understanding the methods behind music marketing via a virtual merch table approach, but what about real world examples of how artists are implementing these ideas?

That’s exactly what I’ll be dedicating April to, unearthing case studies of independent artists using this approach (some unwittingly, perhaps) to build an online presence that nurtures listeners through to becoming lifelong fans.  The research for this is underway now, so let me know if you have any exceptional examples of musicians successfully marketing themselves online.

Thanks for reading and don’t forget to sign up to the newsletter and pass this on to any artist friends who may find it useful!

Marketing

Advergaming for Independent Artists

Leave a comment

This is a guest article by Simon Walklate, co-founder of Bristol, UK based game developers The Motion Monkey. He is also a drummer,  former independent record label owner and music fan.

Learn Video Game Success!Having played in bands for years (and even run my own independent record label at one point) I know just how difficult – and potentially costly – it can be to get your music heard.

Successful musicians and bands have been licensing their music for use in video games for decades. It’s a great opportunity to expose music to potential new fans. In fact, I’m sure pretty much everyone that plays video games can remember at least one occasion when they’ve discovered and become a fan of a band via a video game soundtrack.

But what if you don’t already have a publishing deal and label support to help make these sorts of opportunities happen? Is there a way for independent artists to get involved?

This is where the casual games market comes in.

An Introduction to Advergaming

Free-To-Play, web-based Flash games are a massive source of entertainment for millions worldwide. It’s possible to commission custom games for marketing purposes (often called ‘Advergames’) and they’re perfectly suited to help get your music heard.

You could almost think of it in terms of an interactive music video for a track, with all the same creativity involved in production. A good game designer can either create suitable game concepts and visuals that complement the music, or help you develop your own ideas before producing the finished game.

You can include these custom games on your band website, as well as have the developer distribute the game to online gaming websites for possible inclusion. This way you’re also harnessing existing online casual gaming communities to get your music heard.

Motion Monkey Games

The Benefits of Advergaming for Independent Musicians

Advergames provide a number of advantages to artists over other forms of paid advertising they might use:

  • Direct exposure for the thing that matters most, your music – Having your music as the soundtrack to the game (or the game as the visual and interactive accompaniment to your music, depending on how you want to look at it) means you’re quite literally showing, not telling people about your music.
  • Takes your music to the people – Having a website, social media presence and your music on streaming sites is great. But you need to get people to those places to hear your music, which can be tough. With an Advergame you’re taking your music to the people, rather than waiting (and hoping) for them to come find your music.
  • Potentially huge worldwide exposure – Although there are no guarantees of specific numbers, the potential is virtually limitless. A great Flash game can get millions of plays (and sometimes even tens of millions). Is there another medium that has the potential for that kind of exposure for your music?
  • Drive traffic to your website – Advergames are a great source of traffic for websites. Links within the game direct players to your website to find out more about you and your music and ultimately help you build your fanbase.
  • Long term exposure – Advergames can continue to get huge numbers of plays over the longer term. It’s not unusual for them to keep attracting players years after launch.
  • It’s innovative – Because Advergames are still a pretty new way to advertise, that’s not yet in widespread use, it may help you stand out from the crowd. Been looking for that hook to get your press release noticed both online and with traditional media? This may very well be it.

Next Steps

The Motion Monkey LogoCustom Advergames don’t come cheap, but they don’t have to cost the earth either. Keeping it fairly simple is the key, and having a band of four or more members to split the cost, may just make it financially viable.

You should also be aware that The Motion Monkey are offering reduced rate Advergames for self-financed artists, so get in touch if this introduction has piqued your interest in this unique and creative marketing channel.