Karey Patterson [HREF1], NTech Media, PO Box 1883, Lismore, NSW, 2480. karey@ntechmedia.com
This short paper discusses issues that face artists and musicians when they take up an online presence. It offers suggestions and some subjective advice based on several years experience working with Australian artists, band management and record companies.
It starts with the music – inevitably artists and their representatives, no matter how big or small, engage in marketing the music. The next step, from our perspective, is the engaging of fans and listeners in ways that are meaningful for them….the mayhem. This paper discusses how to create and maintain the momentum of mayhem. It is mainly directed towards artists and musicians but there may be some universal rules useful to others.
Music and the effect it has on people is a very personal experience. Remember
how cool it was when you met a person or artist that inspired you or you were
emotionally attached to? It is quite likely the experience really put you, the
fan, on a high.
Your fans are the same… Be accessible and they will go the extra mile for
you. Your Web Site should facilitate this…if not then who are you trying
to attract and for what?
Get active to make users of your Web Site active – you are your biggest asset. Take the time to recognise this. As Australian band Grinspoon say "The difference is you" [HREF 2]. Your level of involvement and support will determine, to a large degree, the types of activities others do on your behalf.
If you are wound down it is hard to wind up on que. If however there is enough tension and energy surrounding you and your band it is a case of channelling it for best effect.
The days of the web being perceived as a solve all, where you can make more
money than you can imagine are gone and weren’t the reality for most anyhow
[HREF 3].
It has been said that Web sites, and the Internet as a whole are bridging the
marketing divide between start-up bands and established performers, in that
anyone can go in and set up a Web site. Unfortunately this isnt reflective of
the real situation.
It is very hard even for internationally revered stars such as Chuck D from
Public Enemy [HREF 4] to achieve a
comparable level of success or exposure with a web campaign to say a typical
release strategy (radio etc). Do you know what the album was that they released
only on the web? No and I don’t either:) My guess is that the standards
for success need to be adjusted if that we are to talk about growth of grass
roots releases etc. The truth is while music (rock/grunge) in the early nineties
cultivated a DIY attitude that this attitude has dried up somewhat in the industry
and isnt transferring to the web all that well.
The Smashing Pumpkins [HREF 5]
released their last song via MP3 on the web and to date this is the only visible
web based effort that has got air play and airplay that is still the model that
makes the industry tick and exposes artists to mass audiences.
A scatter gun approach to marketing is just that…very hit and miss.
The traditional marketing models used by record companies have changed very
little over the last couple of years and likely wont. It works too well.
As a result of this static model of sales and marketing in the music industry there is some level of disappointment related to the failure of the web to facilitate the DIY breakthrough that many were looking for. In some ways it has happened but it is much more subtle than one may expect…..mayhem subtle? Well yes.
Its about the music and the fans/users – work with them. They are there for you. Use your assets. Your time is the most costeffective asset you control. Many fans are highly motivated and are willing to help you.
Typically the more successful the band the more they exercise their personal influence on the media used to promote them. I think that musicians and bands when they are first signed are somewhat (not always) inclined to let others organise "whats best". As the band grows in stature and confidence you are more likely to see them taking a real interest in their website and the way they are represented. Powderfinger [HREF 6] are a great example of a band that takes the initiative to positively engage their fans through their Web Site diaries and picture collection.
To stand out - engage your users, interest them, answer their questions and
show interest in them, they will go nuts. A website with this type of content
will enable a large group of people (in this case fans) to feel part of the
personal world of the musicians they like.
Mariah Carey [HREF 7] recently left
several highly disclosive and personal messages on her website for her fans.
Two things are important here
Remember the reason people are at your website? They are looking for something else…something immediate….more content, more contact with you! – its yours. Cheap and potent.
To facilitate community a good music Web Site should include personalised chat sessions with band members, personal responses to FAQs to band members, community areas such as guestbooks and online forums, sending out prizes and personalised letters to fans that write in and the formation of Street teams (pioneered by System of a Downs manager) [HREF 8]. Street teams have become a very cost effective and practical method of getting fans activated and supporting the bands. Basically interested fans sign up. When the band is generating news or playing locally the fans are sent packages with posters and promo gear, they spread the word and get free tickets, merchendise etc.
Not much else matters. There is enough gloss in the marketing in traditional media. Most people that come to your site are the converted. Help them feel like it was worth it. Give back….doesn’t cost a lot and is worth more than you think. Motivated fans evangelise your music, enter competitions, lobby radio and TV stations to play your music and clips and travel long distances to get to your gigs.
Successful music Web Sites are not about cool. They help foster community. Cool is to sell to the industry insiders to grab their attention about an up and coming artist . Content and community are for the people that buy your media. Be considerate to your users.
There are many band sites that are visually unappealing, have poor usability and would typically be considered poor quality (by those in the web/media industries) but the fans love them - the answer is there is killer content on the sites - killer in the mind of the user usually involves a level of interaction with the objects of their interest, the band.
Tweak your Support Structure – be serious, its your business. Put it in your contract that you want to have control over this side of things. If you do it now you will have better leverage in negotiating this control as you grow. Many bands lose this opportunity.
Our experience is that most bands get more control over this stuff as they
get bigger. It shouldn’t be a struggle.
Organise the Web Site around your other promotional activities. The site is
about you and may not be a seller in its own right straight away. However sold
out live gigs, merch and back catalogue are examples of where things can and
do take off if managed correctly.
Have a look at record company run sites such as Killing Heidis [HREF 9] – they are generally flat and undernourished. Underhyped vibe and not a positive part of the whole experience for a fan.
This short paper is from my perspective from working with the music indurty
over the last 5 years so it may not be concordant with the artists or A&R
and record company representatives. In our experience community is the most
important element that can be fostered on a music Web Site. Community engages
and creates an environment where people trust and express themselves.
The whole concept of buying/selling requires trust. I feel very strongly that
community building exercises end up shifting product. You look after and take
an interest those you empathise with, if you feel a part of the team then picking
up the next release is an extension of your relationship with the band.
Be original and genuine and the fans will follow.