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By Marion
H Moore
As a music producer working with many artist over the internet I spend a great
deal of my time listening to new music. I started to think about my quest for
new discovery. What was it that made me prefer one artist over another when
both might have equal amounts of talent? What made me download and purchased
one artist's music over another? What made me really want to follow one artist
over another?
To answer these questions I engaged in a little research. For the last two
months I have kept a written log of all the new artists that I have checked
out. (Around 500) In this log I recorded information about my interaction with
the artist's website and music. Information about how many times I went back
to their page, if I downloaded free product or not, if I purchased music or
videos, and if I put them up on my website.
What I soon realized was all the artist that I had started to follow had one
thing in common,
they were unique.
Unique in sound. Unique in appearance. Unique in their approach to video.
Unique in the way they presented their products.
For much of my professional career I've seen so many
artists allow other people to persuade them into becoming a copycat of some
other currently successful artist. Mostly at the hands of the "major" label.
They let other people talk them into changing their hair, clothes, songs,
and sound.
This might very well work for some to gain immediate success, but there is
no better way to damage your career than to become a copycat. What do Kanye
West, Prince, Usher, Drake, Madonna, Metallica, Slayer, Johnny Cash, and DJ
Tiesto all have in common? They are unique. They all have inspired tons of
other artists to copy them.
In the past the only true way to get your product (you as an artist) out to
the masses was to go through one of the major labels. They controlled most
of the major distribution outlets and had a tight grip on commercial media.
(Radio, TV, Magazines) If you wanted your video played on MTV you went through
them. If you wanted your recorded music in a department store you went through
them.
Then along came the internet and digital music downloads. No longer could
the major music companies completely control the distribution and major media
outlets. Now the independent artist has a level playing field. Most of the
time these days you can't even get signed to a major label without creating
your own buzz.
Always remember that you are creating a brand. You are just like a car company
that has produced a new product line and has to get their message out to the
world. The car company has to give people a reason to buy their new cars. A
reason why people should buy into their brand. You are a company who is building
a brand and selling a product. You have to give me a reason to buy your music,
watch your videos, buy tickets to your concerts, put you up on my website,
or tell my friends about you through social media and word of mouth.
For more information please visit my site at: http://www.albmproductions.com |
