Echo Music Strategy

Monetise Now vs. Self Liquidating vs. Rainbow pot of gold

So lets talk strategy. As a musician i appreciate that the process runs a little like this..

…. inspiration hits… an idea blinks into existance over a coffee at a cafe …. takes shape in a notebook or on a guitar in a quiet corner …. is captured down a neumann u87 in a studio… is chizzeled away as parts are recorded and shuffled round a mixing desk …. is polished up under the crystal sound of the Genelec studio monitors at the dolby certified mastering suite… and fially is emblazened forever as the glass master gives birth to the bohemouth million CD run… okay maybe switch that last bit out for “upload to iTunes, Amazon, beatPort, whatever via. digital aggregation service” … lets face it the romance of yesteryears music as a physical product is sadly gone… but the rest of it sound about right as a daily working process?? hmm???

Whats it all for? Whats the end goal? For sure, getting your music out there and expressing yourself is a worthy enough cause in and of itself. But if you want to achieve a specific desired outcome… YOU HAVE TO SET A SPECIFIC GOAL. Now I’m not going to get all business coachy or self-help schpiel on you “you can realise your every hope and desire” … seriously I wouldn’t do that to you. But with a little thought about what you want to achieve upfront we can pick a strategy that best suits YOUR GOALS as an artist and start getting to work on a process that gets your music infront of the right people and starts earning you money.

So as I said earlier, in order to achieve success… first we define the goal. What do you want?

Artist A says “MAKE MONEY!!”

du’h - there’s always a better microphone, or guitar, or new studio to be built. But this isn’t a specific goal.

Artist B says “BE FAMOUS!!”

Nope - still not specific I’m afraid. And its not nessesarily directly proportionate, but arguably we can say that fame, under decent managment will equate to a degree of money.

Artist A says “Earn enough that I can continue to upgrade my kit and sped time in the studio and create while I await the right music deal”

- Now we’re talking - THATS SPECIFICITY. This guy is looking for a Top Tier Manager, a publisher or a record label to offer a deal, but in the meantime they want a trickle-feed of revenue stream coming in.

Artist B says, “I make enough from my day-job. Me and my band just want to hit the big time at all costs so we can collectively pack up the 9-5 and pursue our real dreams on a global tour”

- Perfect! Just as specific, but very different strategy. If immediate revenue is taken out of the equation then we can change-up the game plan. If you think of potential fans and label interest as marbles we’re trying to catch in a giant funnel, the ones that make it to the bottom of the funnel are going to buy the music or offer the record deal. So, in marketing terms, with Artist B who is not so dependant on stable incomming revenue, we can afford to loose a little money upfront by reaching a greater amount of people.

This does not just mean pile it high and sell it cheap. To permanently lower the percieved value of your music is never a good option.

For instance Artist A needs to focus on getting an incoming revenue stream from the music they produce. So offering music for low cost is NOT a viadble option. Streaming services are a great way to get exposure, but unless you’re a commercial artists with streams in the millions and global reach, the revenue generated from the likes of Deezer and Spotify is likely to be in the pence not the pounds. I would’nt rely on this income for much more than a new plectrum at the end of the month, but that said, with a bit of STRATEGY we can turn the REACH of these platforms to our advantage. For example, consider putting only a taster of your repertiore on the service available for streaming. True fans will seek out your other works on iTunes, Amazon and so forth.

Another strategy to employ would be to rotate the music available on the streaming services. So after an amount of time, stick up a different set of tracks. This will serve two purposes. 1. Diehard fans who were used to it appearing in their spotify playlist will buy the track at full price. 2. Your new round of tracks will perk the interest of a wider fan base. You can’t please all the people all the tie though, so expect the odd negative. But if complaints are answered & treated with respect, and you explain the situation as a strugling artist, you can often turn a critic into an avid supporter. Hell… you can blame us for the advice to cycle the music and offer them a discount code for iTunes ;)

Third and final strategy on streaming (for now) - the age old tactic of the flash-sale. Usually most effective if combined with a legitimate reason. For example during one of our more profitable years we incurred a hefty Corporation Tax bill… being the creative types we are… very good with the music search and supply side of things… and not quite as ‘on-it’ on the accontancy side of things… we suddenly needed to ‘magic up’ 20k out of thin air. So rather than keep the boo-boo to ourselves, we were quite public about why we were able to offer custom music jobs at a lower rate (obviously checking with our artists) and although charging less per brief, we ended up winning a lot more jobs during the sale, and so satisfied the guys at HMRC with a hastily cut cheque and avoided a potential nasty compound-fine. The point being… no one likes to settle for the cheap option, but if you can adequately explain why they are in the right place at the right time to get a good deal… expect it to sell like hotcakes!!
N.B.// “Because I felt like it” is also a valid reason… just be sure to not let your “flash sale” be seen as a “perma-sale”… if you’re music is on for too cheap for too long, we will notify you, but when it comes to selling your own stuff direct obviously you’ll have to use a degree of common sense. Customers aren’t idiots ;)

Remember this Rule:
Just because the Commercial Artists at the giant Label’s are doing it… doesn’t mean you need to as well.
The strategy that works for them, won’t neccesarily work for you.
Remember, the big brands are playing a different game. They have the capitol to be putting their promoted artists out there on every bill board, talk show, blog post, digital media imaginable… all around the globe. They know that if enough hype is generated it’ll reach tipping point and the streams, tour shows, sync-licenses and digital purchases will be in such demand that the snow-ball effect will make it turn profitable. That’s how an artist like U2 can drop 6 million pounds on a music video, give away their album for free and still end up making money through Synch-Licensing Placements alone. However when we are at the discovery side of the game, the rules are different. Sure you may not have a social media following in the millions yet… but you’re also UNDISCOVERED TALENT and thats also a strength. Brands like Levis Jeans and Coke have built decades long ad campaigns on breaking new artists and making themselves synonymous with new music. YOUR target market ISN’T the sheep, its the SHEPHERD. You want the fans who are looking to discover that new artist that no-one’s heard of yet. They’ve already put a couple of hours into listening to indie artists that didn’t quite fit the bill before they found you… if they like what they hear, five/ten pounds is quite reasonable for an album that no-one else has got yet (comparitively;) Its counter-intuitive i know, but if you actually offer less… you may end up making more!!

True fans will pay to “discover you” as a new artist, and have early access to your works… but this is not to be abused. You can’t charge people to download your latest music video in full only to be giving it away for free somewhere else. You have to decide where the “free line” is in terms of your content, and have the free stuff lead to sales of your premium content. If you do want to make your full promo available for gratis, why not consider a behind the scenes making of documentary with band interviews that fans can buy… ture supporters will want to help you out, but they will want to feel they’re getting some level of access beyond “joe public” otherwise you run the risk of either making them feel like mugs, or asking for charity…. neither of which is cool.