Your Music is a Business
Why Musicians Should View Themselves as a Brand and Try to Operate as a Business and Not Just a “Hope”
Music means much more than simply singing “Happy Birthday” to a family member. According to Forbes, music was a $19.1 billion industry in 2018. It is true that all songs have to go through the process of being written, recorded, and produced, and it can take years for full albums to be put together. Instead of stopping at the release of the album and hoping people naturally find the songs, it is important for artists to remember how vast the industry is and how important it is to market themselves.
One standard way to do this is by creating a line of merchandise. This often includes t-shirts and can expand to other types of clothing, posters, bags, and more. Websites and social media accounts can bring awareness to an artist’s merchandise and can be especially helpful if they are not currently touring. On that subject, if the interest is to sell merchandise as a way of making income, it is important that it be available at all concerts. For smaller artists, being at a merchandise table signing items has become standard and allows for a personal connection between the artist and the listener.
The merchandise does not have to be overly fancy. All that is truly needed is the name of the artist on the item, often in a custom-designed logo. There are many agencies that can help out with this for artists who are unsure as to how to go about creating such a logo. If successful, selling merchandise can become one of the most reliable sources of income for artists. The profits gained on merchandise can be used for a wide array of purposes, including paying bills and booking recording studios with more advanced equipment.
Another way for an artist to turn themselves into a business is by creating a special connection to fans by taking advantage of social media platforms. Take for example hip-hop producer DJ Khaled. Like him or not, it is undeniable that he knows how to promote himself. Forbes estimates that he is worth $40 million as of July 9, 2019, placing him #87 on the list of highest-paid celebrities. He uses the social media platform Snapchat excessively, where many of his short videos gain a few million views. The videos are simply a glimpse into his life and allow him to stay relevant to his fans. Even when he is not promoting music, he is promoting himself as a brand and keeping himself in the public eye.
That is not to say that every artist needs to go to the extremes of DJ Khaled. It does, however, bring up the point that doing things like creating funny videos or providing updates of how the artist’s next project is developing could be good ideas if executed well. With social media so prevalent in the lives of billions of people, taking advantage of such platforms can be essential in promoting not just music, but also the artist as its own business.
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