Give your music away. No one wants to buy your CD anymore, so stop trying to sell it. The business model has changed. Traditionally the primary form of music consumption and monatization was in physical product – compact discs (CDs), and before that, cassette tapes and records. This isn’t the case anymore. The rise of online file sharing, legal or otherwise, brought about the shift of consciousness among the general public that art should be free. With that, the approach to reach the consumer changed.
Music Business Model
The old model was to attempt to make $15 (the average price of a CD) from 1,000 people, selling them one piece of product. Now the more effective path to earn the equivalent sum is to try to compel 100 people to spend $150 each. This is achieved by giving the music away – handing out free copies of the album or making it available for free download online.
The artist recoups when those people exposed to the music become fans who will pay to see the artist in concert. Once they have bought their concert ticket, the artist can further sell them a poster, a sticker, a T-shirt, a belt buckle, and yes, a CD. Make them a fan first, and focus on the long-term investment of a fan, rather than the quick buck of a CD sale.
The CD is no longer the end product, but rather a means to an end. Touring was for years an exercise of promoting the album, now the album is a function to promote the tour.
Independent Record Labels
There are a growing number of small, independent record labels that have abandoned the sale of CDs altogether. What income they do derive from anonymous consumer interaction is through digital distribution channels such as iTunes. They save money on manufacturing, warehousing, and shipping, which in turn increases the potential profit margin for both the label and the artist, as there are fewer upfront costs. Also, by eliminating these costs, there is less reliance on the sale of CDs to provide a return on investment.
License Music to TV & Film
Achieving placement of a song in a commercial, film, or television show is no longer considered “selling out”. Instead it is now actually a pursued vehicle for making an income as an artist. For many artists it is their most significant source of income.
Music Supervisors are equally affected by declining entertainment budgets as other facets of the industry, and are therefore eager to solicit independent musicians to license their songs for a fraction of what it costs to license the music of a world-renown band. Giving Music Supervisors a free listen to the music might pay dividends when they call to offer a cheque in exchange for the opportunity to include it in a film or television program.
CD Sales
Since a peak in the lake 1990’s, CD sales have declined steadily, and dramatically. In one year, 1,000 music retailers closed in North America. Even if an artist manufactures CDs, there are fewer brick and mortar locations at which consumers can purchase them.
Music Retail
The # 1 retailer of physical music product (CDs) in North America today is Wal-Mart. Yes, Wal-Mart. This poses a tremendous challenge for any artist who includes language or lyrical content that Wal-Mart censors deem to be obscene. Such artists have two options: release a “clean” version, with any profanity removed or obscured; or simply don’t sell your CD at Wal-Mart. If your artistic expression includes excessive cursing, the top CD store won’t carry your art.
Downloads and Bootlegs
So give it away. Post it on Myspace or your own website for free download. Encourage fans to record live shows and share bootlegs. Even give away the CDs themselves as a means of promotion. The manufacturing budget for CDs must include a large portion to be given away. Ask nothing of the general public up front except to listen to your music for free. If they like it, they will offer to support your career by buying everything else you have to sell.
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