Top Music Career Mistake #4: Outdated Music Business Infrastructure

In the beginning of tribal and societal culture-artists and musicians were a rare breed who possessed a unique skill and were a valued part of a tribal/locally connected community and culture.

They were transient in the lives of communities, they had influence, and were both loved and respected.

They were the storytellers, the truth speakers, they reflected and represented the heart and

soul for their tribes.

In the early 1900's - the first wave of major technological breakthroughs occurred and introduced the ability to record and broadcast sound. The traditional music industry was born and emerged - supplanting sheet music as the largest player in the business of music.

As the the industry boomed and bloomed music took over the airwaves and a popular culture was born.

But as we progressively became more and more distanced from the organic elements that make music an integral part of each community, as mass media stardom and major label bottom lines trumped the investment and development of musicians, the supporting structure weakened, success got confused with fame, and the vital bond between the artist and their tribe loosened and detached.

Fundamentally the music business became the business of music, major labels became banks and industry execs must have forgot that artists were just people with talent and potential that require proper cultivation and development to fully produce the unique assets that would make them rich.

Uhem…

Fully deliver their gifts to the rest of the tribe.

Some may say that the music industry is dead, dying, or on life support…

Couldn’t be further from the truth...

The future of the modern music business is the unique EXPERIENCE of your content.

Creativity and inspiration are the true drivers for Artists in modern world, and the palette of experiential expression extends beyond vinyl or canvas or digital data. It is a sophisticated array of always on, always available communication formats and distribution channels designed to deliver your content to anyone, virtually anywhere or anytime.

From global distribution and having our music available for sale next to the superstars, to seemless blog and website platforms. It's 2015, and it only gets better from here!

But now it’s getting much more sophisticated. We are talking about smarter, interactive, personalized, fan experiences that can be created, delivered, customized, even automated. Creating and providing fully integrated-Live, Digital access, and virtual experiences that can turn your content and your artistry into actual journeys and adventures that substantially increase the value you can create-in with and for your career and fanbase.

Success for Artists in the new music business, and in our new economy-will be a combined development of one’s Artistic talents and craft, as well as their entrepreneurial savvy and overall creative integration with the modern toolset. There are more resources available than ever before, but it’s always going to come down to the content, AND your resourcefulness.

There’s definitely a GAP still for many of us…

And that’s what I’m honored and proud to be here to help you with!

The Artists community by in large has been caught off guard, underprepared, and unequipped to navigate the modern landscape.

An overwhelming majority of Traditional Artists are still seeking a major label contract and are largely ignorant to the facts and the real opportunities available to us in the modern music industry.

But you don't need to feel bad, or guilty, or get defensive. One ultra critical point you need to understand is that it's really NOT your fault.

Most artists still have not and are not learning the fundamentals for utilizing the modern toolset.

Traditional Artists are not using their time, their tools, their resources like a modern musician

how good is your game would you say, scale of 1-10?

We are all connected. Modern artists are the next evolution of storytellers and creators, in a GLOBALLY connected tribe.

Every modern music business needs to be interactively engaged on the channels that our audience is on.

let me ask you a couple more questions…

• are you doing real time listening and interaction across your marketing channels and key impact points?

• are you connecting and integrating visitor and contact data across your entire fan experience?

• are you attending to feedback and adding value by listening to the signals of both structured and unstructured data?

• are you implementing and/or logging the data across every interaction your fans are having with you?

• do you have an integrated fan relationship database that connects and talks to everyone?

Didn't think so.

But again, my point isn't to make you feel guilty for not already having mastered all this stuff, because again it's not exactly your fault…

Something happened pretty recently… Mind you,

The way we create, produce, consume, share, market, sell and experience music has changed forever.

But…

Let’s start off with some of the fundamentals…

Do you have an effective Music Marketing System working for your Career?

Is It automatically generating, converting and developing loyal fan relationships for you on autopilot?

For the majority of both emerging AND established Artists I work with one of the first things they need to do is to setup a strong relationship database and build a basic music marketing system.

Do you have an intelligent system created to automatically generate, collect, build relationships and then convert potential fans into new fans, turn them into true fans, and eventually super fans and loyal supporters that love you long time?

If not, well then you are not letting modern music marketing technology work for you, and you are not leveraging the modern toolset. Thus by not automating the parts of your career that can be-so you can focus more of your time and brain waves on Creating and Connecting, you are likely paying for it in some way that is undesirable and unnecessary.

Now let’s go a bit more granular:

Think about your current business processes: How are you supposed to make any technology work for you if you do not even understand what your business processes are? Sit down with your team and ask yourself the following questions:

– Where do your potential fans, deals or leads come from?
– How do you nurture your potentials?
– How do you follow up with your them?
– How do you convert potentials to paying fans?
– What happens when a potential fan becomes a brand new paying customer for the first time?

It is critical to sit down with your entire team and involve them from the beginning as you figure all this stuff out. Which is something we’d do together, if you joined this 1-1 coaching program…

Multi-channel, multi-step followup sequences that actively engage with and automate the generation of new potentials as well as build up relationships and convert from new fan, to true fan to super fan etc. Are systems and processes modern musicians have working for them. Making them sales, as well as building relationships on autopilot.

We can simply do so much more than we’ve ever been able to as independent artists and musicians.

From global distribution and having our music available for sale next to the superstars, to seemless blog and website platforms. It's 2015, and it only gets better from here!

But now it’s getting much more sophisticated. We are talking about smarter, interactive, personalized, fan experiences that can be created, delivered, customized, even automated. Creating and providing fully integrated-Live, Digital access, and virtual experiences that can turn your content and your artistry into actual journeys and adventures that substantially increase the value you can create-in with and for your career and fanbase.

We are on the leading edge of artistry. These are exciting times for modern creators, but the name of the game, the easily missed opportunity, the most rewarding and fulfilling aspect that can be easily overlooked in all the tech hoopla and hype-which i'm advocating and talking to you today about-is the opportunity for greater, deeper, more meaningful emotional connection with your fans and supporters. The technology is one part, and the creative communication and connection is the other. More on that in a minute.

Having worked with, consulted, coached, advised, learned from, or spoken with thousands of artists, musicians, and content creators over the last 11 years I’ve come to a few definitive conclusions.

One of the reasons I see why so many Artists are puzzled, overloaded, or stagnant with figuring out how to take their careers to the next level today-is because they simply do not understand the tangible elements, the practical components, the fundamental tools at the core of their career.

Too many emerging and established artists/musicians run sub-optimal career operations because they don’t understand the fundamentals of modern music business, and modern music marketing.

Engaging with your audience via your blog, through your social channels, at your live shows, and any other distribution channel where you can make that initial connection with possible fans is what you're already doing. I want to simply show you how to do that even more effectively. To teach you how to do that at the next level-so that you can create and generate more value for your music business yes, but more importantly for your fans and the lifelong relationships you are building with them.

In the modern music business you are not just an Artist, you are MULTI-media Creator and a 3Dimensional Storyteller!

..T-Shirts, Exclusive Access Experiences, VIP Packages and cool Merch ideas are as easy to create as a new song or blog post. New content, concepts, causes to support, collaborations, income streams, promotional and placement opportunities, your ideas and stories are now ready to be packaged and sold in whatever form and through whatever distribution channel you choose.

From pre-or post-gig hang outs, to social media communication, to recruiting fans for your street team, there are so many ways to build relationships with the people who like your music. This can grow, organically, to find you seeking fan input on things like what kind of merch you should offer or soliciting t-shirt and album designs. Including fans in an upcoming video, providing online remix contests, and organizing post-gig house concerts are other creative ways to get fans engaged. The more engaged your fans are, the more likely they’ll be to turn other friends on to your music.

But my mission isn't to talk to you about possibilities and ideas you could try.

I want to change the way you think about growing your music career & fan base.

My mission is to help you DEEPER Connect with your True Fans and supporters around the world.

My mission is to teach, inspire, and empower you to find greater fulfillment by more meaningfully connecting with your fan base, and adding more value to your content business by helping you develop the assets that will be the most rewarding for you long term.

Check out enrolling for Modern Musician Bootcamp here, and/or setup a quick chat with me to discuss whether or not you’d be a good fit for it.

Stay Fresh,

Jamie Leger

The Music Business Architect for Independent Artists & Creators

Proudly Helping Hundreds of Modern Musicians liberate the music business, declare their artistic independence, and earn a full-time living doing what they love-on their own terms.

CEO of The Music Business Liberation Program

Creator of the Music Business Blueprint