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The new web music business throws music business as usual out the window so music producers and artists need to get creative.
This page lists 4 key ideas you should know about and apply to your own music business as an independent music artist.
The ideas I refer to are...
The DIY spirit and ethic is
alive and kicking in the age of the Interwebz because the Web allows
you to do so much more by yourself than was ever before possible.
You
can now for example digitally distribute, promote and market your own
music by yourself for very little cost in time and money.
So you can do many things for your business by yourself...
... just not all of it!
You
cannot create any real web music business success by yourself. You
need other people to grow your music business into something which gets
you more than beer money.
The trick of DIY is to figure out what
you want done and how to do it by yourself or with a bit of help from
others. Next, create a plan and see which parts of it you really want to
do yourself. Then, find other capable and trustworthy people to help
you do the things you can't or don't want to do.
Master the above
DIY trick and you'll be able to focus on what you love while still
getting what you need done by people you can trust.
This idea comes by way of the Internet Marketing world.
I
build my web businesses with a system called SBI! which has been
invaluable to me. The SBI! Action Guide shows you how to apply the
C>T>P>M process for success in web business.
What's C>T>P>M?
SBI!
is based on the Content>Traffic>Pre-Sell>Monetize
process which explains how small business works on the Web, plain and
simple.
The process in short is...
Create
and publish quality content about a topic you are passionate about, get
traffic because of your content, build trust (pre-sell) due to your
content and then monetize (cringe!).
Now, as you can imagine,
web business isn't as easy as the above sentence may make it sound.
This is about building a real web business and as you know by now any
business takes work.
SBI! and C>T>P>M works for people
who are able to apply their own brains and motivation to achieve the
business success they want. This is not a way to get quick money on the
web. Quick-money isn't a business and get-rich-quick schemes will only
leave you disappointed.
I suggest you follow the Action Guide
videos and then get
SBI! (that's my affiliate link yes) for yourself because
there is quite a learning curve involved and again, a whole lot of work.
I
can recommend SBI! to you with peace in my heart because I know the
product and company like the back of my hand and have never come across a
solution which gets the results SBI! does.
The next key idea you need to nail down for web music business success is Direct-to-Fan...
You
know the new deal. Cut out middlemen between you and your tribe
whenever you can, especially those care nothing for your art.
Direct
To Fan is a business model(ish) approach used by music artists to reach
out to their tribe of supporters and potential supporters.
Good
old Wikipedia has a decent little write-up on the approach which
mentions the different areas it covers. The Wiki also includes a list of
companies who offer services and products you can use to go direct to
your own supporters.
The great thing about the companies which
offer DTF tools and services is that they are mostly non-exclusive.
These companies will either charge you flat fee or take a percentage out
of your sales. These services are invaluable for the independent web
music business.
Research, know, use!
This idea comes from Michael Masnick from the notorious Techdirt...
How well do you connect with your fans?
What reason do you give anyone to take money from their accounts and zap it over to yours?
These are important questions you must answer for yourself.
Your music may be reason enough though this is unlikely when music is available for what feels like free. You have to create something which is less common and combine it with a great online presence should you want to peddle your wares on the web.
Understand: The reason to buy will usually be an emotional choice based on the relationship and trust you have with your supporters. What your supporters actually want is a piece of your world, or at least the world you've created.
So, there you have 4 key ideas to apply to your own web music business.
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