Blessing or a Curse?

There is a fascinating conversation going on these days and if you are a musician, author or performing artist I hope you are participating. I have recently been involved in blogging about the concept of giving away free content in order to build a relationship with your audience or to even create an audience in some cases.

The internet has had a major impact on the music world as most people know. The debate is about "free music" vs paying for music online. Some people think recorded music should be free online ( the radio model) and simply used as a way to promote the artist. Other people see music as a product that should be sold and feel that the people who are giving it away diminish the value of music in general. Some people are even saying that it all depend on the quality of the music but I see this dilemma from a couple of perspectives. First as a musician and secondly as a marketer.

I have been writing songs and singing since I was thirteen - I have been recording music since the mid eighties and I will continue to write, record and perform. And I will continue to sell my musical products online and from the stage.

Additionally, I have worked on 5 national (print) magazines over the past twenty five years, some of them music industry focused. What has changed so dramatically has been the way EVERYTHING is marketed and sold, not just music. This is not a question of "good or great" music, Music is a matter of taste, some people love broccoli and some people hate it, it's the same with music. Besides, if it were simply a question of quality what do you say to the substantial history of products in any given industry that suck but sold well? Explanation ... great marketing!

This is clearly a marketing issue and the marketing paradigm has shifted for EVERYONE, not just people marketing music. It has changed dramatically because of this thing called the internet. With any massive change there will be losers and winners. The losers are the people who own and are heavily invested in the old way of selling and won't or can't adapt and the winners will be the people who figure out how to use the new technology to win. And I mean win financially because without financial success nothing is sustaianable.

As far as I am concerned there has never been more opportunity to create an audience in the history of mankind and whenever you create an audience you can make money. So when it comes to creating a relationship with an audience yes I think you should give something to them for their time and attention. It is naive to expect people to give you their time and attention if you are not giving them anything - we live in a world full of information and there is a lot of competition fighting for that attention. Attention is worth a lot, this is what the media companies are selling and if you don't believe me, google the cost of a Super Bowl advertisement.

I really appreciate the people who have and continue to follow my career and take the time to listen to my music and rad my newsletters and blogs and I am touched that people buy my CD's and add it to the "sound track" of their lives. Wow - what a compliment!

Elizabeth