The Only Guaranteed Way To Win Over More Fans
OMG! I found a band I’ve never heard of that I might like.
I want to take their music with me and listen to them, but their MySpace only has 4 songs, and their full album is $9.99 on iTunes…
These are the kinds of thoughts I have everyday when I sort through all the music on MySpace, iTunes, ReverbNation, Twitter, and everywhere else you hear of new bands. 98% of the time I either disregard a band for aesthetic reasons or I listen to one song for 20 seconds and then pass on them. So – what is your only guaranteed shot at winning me over as a fan?
In the words of Martin Atkins:
Free is the new black.
Give a special album away for free–but not entirely free. If you want to know the best way to win over a “connector,” give them your album for free by collecting their email address for your mailing list, and then send them a free download link. The music will always be on their computer, and you’ll always have a way to get in touch with them to remind me of how awesome/nice/talented you are later.
It shouldn’t and doesn’t have to be your full length studio album that you spent all your money on.
It can be one single, a few b-sides, rare songs, acoustic songs, or even some bootleg live recordings.
If you’re just getting started you need all the fans you can get, and the value you can get from them is their email or contact information to tell them when you have a live show coming up.
I Fight Dragons did this–now they’re shows are jammed with people
Kid You’ll Move Mountains did this–now they’re getting radio and television airplay.
Trent Reznor did this–now I can’t even get into the presale for one of his shows.
Mathletes did this–now I’m bound by blood to go to their shows (as soon as they update their tours on MySpace.)
Empires did it–And they’re one of my favorite local acts that I still buy music from.
Enter Shikari did it–They’ve got over 1,000,000 plays on their MySpace.
The Swellers did it on Reverbnation–and now AssaultBLOG is officially a Swellers superfan site
The inner accountant in the head of all musicians is probably thinking…
Why won’t people pay the $10 for our full length album? Doesn’t anyone want to help out a small struggling band? Is it too much to ask to pay for something you enjoy that took lots of hard work? We don’t want fans that won’t support our $10 album.
If you’re just starting out, you don’t have what people in the advertising business refer to as “brand equity.” No one knows you.
They know all the shit they hear on the radio.
They know all the drivel that iTunes puts up on their featured section.
They know the bullshit they occasionally see on what used to be MTV.
The only advantage you have over the bands that are getting heavy airplay is that you’re giving it away for free. Google does it and crushes everyone because what they have rocks. If your music rocks, and you can give some of it away for free, you can bet that you’ll get more people at your shows, more people buying your merch, and with a few years of hard work you’ll have a loyal fan-base that will kill baby unicorns for you if you ask them to. Think of your free album as your trial run – if you want the full upgrade, pay the price by buying the full length album, going to our shows, and buying our merch.
It works in every other industry. Why not the music industry?
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About the Author
Tim is the co-owner of Assault, and tends to think he can party twice as hard as anyone. Follow him on twitter @assault Email this Author | All posts by tim
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