Peter Wells is the SVP of Operations and Customer Advocate at TuneCore. Peter began as a classical pianist, English literature teacher, senior technical writer at Cisco and director of label relations at eMusic, where he built a deep knowledge of the music business.

 Part IV: Good Marketing and Bad

Things get a little tricky from here, because marketing and promotion needs context: what’s right for one person could be very wrong for another, at any price. Everyone has a different idea of “success,” so what is “success” to you? Do you want to:

• fill the local bar every third weekend with forty or fifty happy drinkers, sprinkled with a few die-hard fans?
• fill a football stadium and tour the world on a private jet?
• remain perpetually “alternative,” always outside the mainstream, attracting fans that despise Top 40?
• record and sell your church choir’s concerts only to the congregation?
• see your music up in the biggest, most powerful music store of any kind in the world (iTunes), and don’t care if anyone listens or buys?

How about sales? Is this your hobby or career? Do you want to make back the cost of your instruments or buy a mansion in every major metropolis in the world? Are you supporting a family with your music, or a drug habit, or a charity, or are you hoping for a bit of mad spending cash reserved for fun purchases only? Are you dead-set against MP3s, or compact discs? Are you vinyl only, or compose exclusively on software for DJs to download and mix? Are you against the idea of selling music at all?

TIP #3: Define Your Own Success

Before looking into any kind of marketing and promotion, ask yourself:

• Who do you want to hear your music and why?
• How do you want them to listen?
• Do you want them to buy your music, and when, and how?
• Where do money, fame and your own musical career fit in?

Notice the first question—why should you ask why? Your music is good, right, isn’t that reason enough? And why should it matter how they listen? Isn’t it understood you want them to buy your music? What does “buy your music” really mean? These questions all highlight a trap, and if you don’t ask why, right at the beginning, you’re going to fall into it and exhaust yourself pursuing the wrong marketing and promotion.

Everyone markets and promotes for a different reason. A toothpaste manufacturer is wholly interested in making money (or perhaps branding), and selling toothpaste is how they plan to accumulate it. They promote their toothpaste to encourage people to buy it, they market their toothpaste to drive desire, to build demand. Music isn’t always so commercial: in fact, most people feel contemptuous towards music produced solely to sell or brand. Many consider it crass consumerism, or devoid of art. When you bring in beauty and art and even politics (if you don’t think music can have political aims, listen harder), the goals of creation are often very much at odds with making money.

So get a good idea of what you want your music to do. You wouldn’t be reading this article if you didn’t want it to get into at least a few hands, and presumably you’re not averse to making money when they get it. So now you have to ask “who, when and how,” and each of these has a value. Here are a few scenarios:

I want my music in EVERYONE’S HANDS, IMMEDIATELY, and in EVERY POSSIBLE FORMAT. I’m sure you do, since that means the most people will have the greatest opportunity to become familiar with your music, come to love it and buy it, in whatever format is easiest for them. Making things easy on the consumer means making it rough on the distributor. Are you really unwilling to disappoint the guy who insists on buying your album on 8-track? It’s going to cost you a fortune to make 8-track tapes, and fulfillment is going to be a nightmare (be prepared to ship them one by one). You can have all these, but you’re going to spend millions and millions of your own dollars on TV, radio, print ads, billboards, promotional giveaways, a full blitz. You’ll have to sell more than the Beatles and Elvis combined to make all that money back. No label is going to take that kind of risk on you, and unless your measure of “success” is to get your music to everyone and hope it’s liked, this isn’t a good strategy.

I want my music in AS MANY HANDS AS POSSIBLE as SOON AS POSSIBLE in THE MOST POPULAR FORMATS. Better—now you don’t have to make vinyl or reel-to-reel tapes, you are willing to let it grow a bit (what does “as soon as possible” mean?) and you’re willing to give up on some potential customers. This would still bankrupt any but the biggest labels, and unless your music is so beloved it outsells Cher and Pavarotti, this is another overoptimistic goal.

I want my music to reach AS MANY TEENAGED BOYS IN AMERICA as possible BEFORE THE SUMMER SEASON ENDS as UNENCRYPTED AUDIO FILES. Finally, you’ve reached something that’s actually reasonable, but it’s still wildly expensive. That demographic (teen boys) is heavily exploited, especially in summer. That’s also the group that tends to patronize music pirating software, so you’re running a higher risk by insisting on DRM-free audio formats. Labels target teen boys all the time, as do movies and the snack food industry and just about everyone. It’s possible for you to wade in, but again, heavy on the wallet.

I want my music to reach EVERY CIVIL WAR RE-ENACTOR in RICHMOND, VIRGINIA in time for CHRISTMAS on COMPACT DISKS and MP3s.Christmas is a long way away (I’m writing in August), and there are plenty of services who can help you in time for Christmas, as it’s a common demand. Richmond, Virginia, is a big city, but a little hard work with fliers by you and your friends could probably reach the few physical places where re-enactors gather, and they perhaps have a Website whose administrator you can reach out to. Just about everyone can play a CD these days in America, even if they don’t have a computer, so very few will be disappointed. In fact, you probably already know much of this crowd already, because why else would you be writing music that would appeal to such a narrow group?

Hidden in these scenarios are the keys to understanding not only the right kind of marketing and promotion, but also how to value it, put a hard dollar amount on it, and ultimately deciding where to put your marketing resources.

In Part V, Finding the marketing and promotional sweet spot!

Martin Atkins has a 30 year career in the music business that includes touring with the bands Public Image Limited, Killing Joke, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails and Pigface, owning an independent record label celebrating its 20th anniversary with over 350 releases, and is an instructor at Columbia College Chicago teaching The Business of Touring, Applied Marketing, and Indie Label Management. He is also the author of the book Tour:Smart.

Before we delve into the wonderful world of touring logistics, strategies, great ideas that can help, bad ideas that won’t, and a few stories along the way; perhaps we should ponder if, with all of the technological advancements every day AND (for f’s sake) the price of gas!, If it’s even necessary to tour anymore?

Yes it is, you know it is, stop smoke-screening you lazy bastard and get with it!!

You don’t need to look far for an example of how important it is to get out there. Do you think for one second that, if it wasn’t essential, that politicians ever leave home? Most of those guys can’t even bring themselves to think about other people, let alone touch them—(unless it’s on the ass). So the only reason they are out there is: 1. More ass, or 2. Their advisors told them that they had to, showed them the evidence, and pushed them out the door. Think about this the next time you see one of them getting on the ‘truth bus’ or whatever crap they are selling this week.

Every single element affecting your career and your ability to continue is helped by touring:

• Anyone anywhere is more likely to check out your MySpace page if they see you are coming to town.

• Any promoter in any other city is more likely to give you a gig if they see you are performing in other parts of the country.

• People on the web write about things that happened at shows they went to, not shows that didn’t happen, that they couldn’t go to…

• Your manager, if you have one, will prioritize you over another (maybe better?) band because you are working harder (unless the other band is Radiohead).

• You can be the eyes and ears for your label, if you have one... or for other bands too lazy or frightened to leave their home base. You can tell them where responses, crowds, sound-systems are good or where ‘promoters’ are baaaaaad.

• Your agent, if you have one, will pay more attention if you show him you are prepared to perform seven shows a week. That means if he can get you to a point where you are earning $1,000 a night, then he could earn $1,000 a week.in commissions. (good job agents don’t care about money huh!)

• The record store (if you can find one) is more likely to stock your music and put up a poster.

• Everyone from the local blogger to the local paper is more likely to review your CD or mention your show.

• You can leave behind promotional beacons… t-shirts etc, put up stickers in bathrooms, graffiti in the dressing room and generally ‘leave your mark’

• Your album (or collection of songs) will be better because you’ll have direct and immediate feedback from a real, live audience; either smiling and jumping up and down because the songs you thought were great really are, or throwing things because you are delusional and your songs are shit. Either way, this is way more valuable than a bunch of people on your MySpace page plugging their own albums.

• It is a great opportunity to triumph over your shyness (eventually without the aid of alcohol) and polish your people meeting skills.

• This is stuff YOU can do – (while you are waiting for all of the people who said they were going to do something to come through for you.)

• You are creating more of your own content, audio, video and mythical…. you can’t release a Live in Paris (Texas) album if you don’t go and play there!

And, very importantly:

• The more you play, the better you get!

• You can meet GREAT, enthusiastic people who can help you next time around

• You can discover wonderful things in other town’s thrift stores

In addition to all of this – many other things will just become blindingly obvious to you as you begin this journey. You will realize when the guitarist pukes on you for the fourth time that maybe his drinking is becoming a problem – you can reflect further on this as you pull out pieces of sweetcorn and carrots from the pockets of your jeans at the laundromat.

What does all of this mean? How will it really help you? Well, all of these bits of information are little bricks in your wall (I use that analogy a LOT) but, here’s an example of what you’ll be getting from this column to leave you with:

A simple decision for a band in the mid-west – between heading out to the west coast or staying closer to home but still hitting major markets – the difference in gas costs alone - $1200. That’s the tour support that the label that wouldn’t sign you, wouldn’t give you!

Ok, now, do I have your attention???

GREAT – if you want to start reading up on this, taking control of as much of your career as you can – then there is a great deal on my e book here or you can go to Amazon and get it here.

Coupon Code: KNOW
Gets 25% Off anything from the Invisible Web Store… including the Tour:Smart book, or the eBook, or even for a discount off admission to the Tour:Smart seminar at the Invisible Records offices on September 6th.
Expires September 15, 2008

P L R

Martin Atkins

John Doe is the founder of the seminal Los Angeles punk group X, a solo artist and actor. John answers questions from our community members in the WWJDD? blog. Photo by Autumn de Wilde.

A question from Robert in Jacksonville, FL

Hello John,

I am in the process of putting a new band together with some really strong players and experienced songwriters. We all have a good work ethic and it feels like we have the real potential to create some meaningful material. I know it's tough out there to get noticed as a new band these days. Any suggestions you have for hitting the ground running and ultimately getting signed to a record label would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Robert

WWJDD?

OK . . .  You want to be noticed? Just do EVERYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF!!! And try to think of those things all the time.  Believe it or not that's what every one big or small in the music biz does, everyday they're at work & sometimes all night long too.  Wait . . . unless you work at a major label, then like all offices, you fuck around all day & just make sure it LOOKS like your busy.
    Write the best songs, learn to play the best you can (don't forget original style helps but not totally necessary these days), find the best gigs or any gigs, tell as many people as you can think of, make demos & send them to record companies (a contact always helps), make friends in the music scene in yr town, if there is none, then move, make a My Space & Facebook page, a web site, get yr friends excited & throw a party. the list goes on forever but you get the idea.  In my experience when a record or artist "takes off" (and there are hundreds of definitions of that) it's because they did everything & three or four elements or people actually worked. I believe that if yr truly talented, have a little ambition & not a complete social wash-out, you will get noticed.  Many of my friends debate this w/ me but I still believe it because I've seen it happen too many times.  It's all pretty basic.  Just take a shot, cross yr fingers & work as hard as you can at EVERYTHING. I know that sounds like the Prodestant  work ethic but that's the way things seem to succeed.  Though it seems like it, this isn't just drudge work.  It needs creativity & inspiration too. 

I hope this helps, good luck
and as always, thanks for writing
JD

If you have questions for John Doe about music, the music business or life feel free to email them to wwjdd@knowthemusicbiz.com.

For more information on John Doe check out theejohndoe.com or YepRoc.com .