Ok well yesterday, someone asked me how do you market an artist? I then thought to myself, that's a good question and there are many answers... but I started by saying..

1. The music industry has dramatically changed over the years, so the dynamics of how artists break into the industry are a lot different than say 10 years ago. With Piracy on the rise, and record sales plummeting, artists and labels are always trying to find new ways to engage listeners and gain true loyal fans. Fans are so fickle and the competition is high so these are all things that you want to keep in mind when thinking about how you plan to spend your marketing dollars to promote an artist.

First, you want to understand your product, in this case the artist or the specific type of music. Figure out what makes it different from other artists. For example, does the artist have a unique style, a different way of performing? Then you want to identify who your audience would be? Meaning, is it an urban group, rock, alternative, or a genre that is a mix of different music types that would attract people. After evaluating these aspects, you can then try to begin to decide what would be the best way to market your artist.

Some suggestions

1. Make a good record (test it, by asking people who will be honest with you what they think)
2. Get DJ's to play and promote the record
3. Get a street team together to distribute flyers in places where your target group would most likely be.
4. Try to sell your music at events in your local area
5. Create an online presence through sites, like Myspace, Youtube, Blackplanet, Blogger, Facebook..
6. Perform, Perform, Perform
7. Network and tell people about your music. The saying, you have to be in the right place at the right time, holds true in the music industry...
8. Be a voice not only on a musical level but active in other activities in the community where you can cross promote your music where appropriate
8. Partner with other brands, for co-branding opportunities
9. Email marketing- send out newsletters on upcoming shows to friends and fan base
10. Mobile Marketing - this is new, but a great way to reach people
11. Last but not least - always continue to perfect your craft


Miss D

Piracy & Music

Ok so today, we know that the music industry is still battling piracy and all the downfalls that it has to offer artists. Piracy is so bad that the artist Talib Kwali, accidentally left a copy of some of his music in the studio, and it got into the wrong hands and before you knew it, songs from his unreleased album was all over the Internet.

His solution was to release his next album online in the hopes that it will reduce people illegally downloading it the second time around. So what can we do to to stop piracy?

I open up the questions to you...

Music Marketing - New Artists

Hello everyone, and welcome to the first edition of The Marriage of Music & Marketing, a blog written by myself Monique Duarte. I am the owner and founder of the marketing company Swan Marketing. Please visit us online at http://www.swan-marketing.com. I am so excited to start talking with others about my Passion, music & marketing, and to find out what interests others on this topic.

So for my first discussion, I am going to start with a topic that I have studied, done research on, and analysed..

Why Do Artists Fail?

One thing I have studied throughout my career, is that it is always a struggle for unknown artists to get discovered, and succeed in the music industry even when they have a deal with a major label! I never understood this from the outside looking in, until I started working with labels, I guess because if you don't hear about an artist, you don't know they ever existed right?

My point is, there are so many artists that get a record deal and because there are other "A" list artists on the label with seniority, their budgets are lower, they get treated like no a priority, and in turn, don't get the promotion they need to really be successful. Do you think this is fair? How does an artist get ahead if he has no control over it? What can marketing companies and the labels do to make sure everyone has equal opportunity? What things effect these situations?

Well one thing is for sure, downloading and piracy have played a big part in the shift in the music industry, including layoffs and smaller budgets to work with. Other factors include time constraints, regulations, artist cooperation, and the amount of resources available to properly manage a new artist. Sometimes it is also about the risk, meaning the label wondering, will we recoup the money that we invest in this artist? Or will their album be a flop because they are a new artist and they don't have a strong following yet? These are all issues the labels face and that we try to help overcome.

To read more and get info on our marketing services please visit http://www.swan-marketing.com/


Thanks for reading!