Ariel Publicity

(via The ASCAP Expo Blog)

I’m going to be honest. Initially, I went to the “Your Digital Tool Belt” panel just to stalk Alison Sudol ofA Fine Frenzy for a while. Little did I expect that it would end up being the most engaging thing I did all day. As an 18-year-old in the modern age, I find that I’m constantly plugged in — Facebook, Pandora, Gmail, you name it. Since I’m also one of those people who gets exhausted by too much input, I was less than enthusiastic when Twitter came up with a way for people to share their most mundane experiences. I hate the pretentiousness associated with assuming that anyone in the world cares what you ate for lunch, or what fabulous thing you just did that they should be jealous of. My philosophy is generally that people should get out there and live their own lives without bothering me with the details.

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I’m just back from an amazing trip to Los Angeles where I attended and spoke at the ASCAP Expo. I also hosted a networking mixer at the house for 50 musicians from my community in Brooklyn and so I have been thinking a lot about community lately, and I have some thoughts:

Every artist has three separate communities.

Community #1: Your Super Fans

These are fans who are primarily Your Live Audience. You know them by name. If you play out live, they attend your shows regularly, and buy many things you offer (not just music). If you have a street team they are on it and they evangelize strongly on your behalf.

Community #2: Engaged Fans

These fans are your Active Online Audience. They are newsletter subscribers, blog readers, video watchers, RSS subscribers, active Social Media engagers who frequently comment & engage with you on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Community #3: Ambient Fans

These fans are your Passive Online Audience and they are your social media friends who are aware of you via Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Last.fm, etc. but don’t actively communicate with you and may not have ever even heard your music (yet).

There are many different communities to tack on to this list but these are the primary three.

The problem is most artists have only one strategy for marketing and promoting to three totally separate groups.

The way you maintain your relationship with each of these communities requires a different strategy because you have varying degrees of engagement with each of them.

The way you create and develop your relationship with them should also take some careful consideration.

Yes, there will be overlap between them but not as much as you may think.

This article is broken up into three parts, one for each community.

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Artists need help.

Do It Yourself (DIY) doesn’t actually mean doing everything alone. No one ever suggested taking the music industry on without the help of at least 1 team member.

The majority of artists whom I speak to on a daily basis have additional day jobs. To dump the entire DIY burden on a musician who is already giving 40-50 hours a week to another arena is ludicrous. If you stack the self-promotion essentials (blog outreach, etc.) atop a laundry list of direct-to-fan responsibilities, a promising artist can be quickly pushed to apathy. I get emails all day saying, “I just don’t have any time. Can’t I just make music? That’s all I want to do.”

Sadly, for an independent artist, those days are over. Music without exposure is nonexistent. That being said, artists need at least one person to help them. I don’t care who it is; their mother, father, brother, stereotypical super fan, 5th grade teacher, parole officer, etc. An artist needs to exhaust their personal networks to find someone who is willing to help them succeed. This task is way too daunting otherwise.

Artists: If you have literally no one in your life who can help, check out http://www.entertainmentcareers.net/employers/submit.asp. Create a for-credit internship opportunity for a student. Let them handle a portion of your online media efforts, and take an immense burden off your shoulders (I would NEVER recommend letting anyone post content on your behalf. I am just referring to the less interactive tasks). This will give a student an in-the-trenches perspective on what it’s like to be an artist in today’s DIY landscape. A band is a business. Businesses have interns.

Artists without assistance will continue to struggle, or quit. Those who can hone their efforts properly (with the help of at least 1 other teammate) will be around to tell the next generation of musicians how both versatility and adaptability allowed them to prosper in the most hectic of times.

Christopher Gesualdi is currently the Marketing Director @ Ariel Publicity (http://twitter.com/cyberprmktg)

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Yesterday, I guest lectured at NYU for a group of Music Business students. One of them asked me an excellent question:

Is there a formula for success in today’s music business?

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www.womenofsubstanceradio.com

Featuring female performers who deliver vocal excellence, depth of character, and lyrics that leave a lasting impression.

Q) Tell us a little bit about your blog. What inspired you to start it?

A) Women of Substance Radio is a streaming, online radio station which airs 24/7 on the Live365 Network. Our tagline is “Whether you’re a label artist or an Independent, if you’ve got great music, you’re on Women of substance Radio.” Substance can be defined as “significant quality with the implication of a hidden or special significance.” Music of Substance is not just entertainment or fluff, but has an essential “core” brimming with heart, soul, and spirit. Women of Substance Radio plays music by female performers who deliver high quality music that speaks to the listener through vocal excellence, depth of character and emotion, and lyrics that leave a lasting impression.

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Brooklyn, NY. April 1, 2010 – Everybody is talking about direct-to-fan, and how it is changing the way musicians can sustain themselves. Never before have musicians had so much direct communication with their tribes.

Sometimes I look at this progression and think, “What could possibly be next?” Boundaries are often pushed so far so fast that it is difficult for us to even forecast a possible next step, let along carry one out.

If you too are stumped by this question, look no further than UK duo, Rob and Kal.

Rob and Kal (click on the photo to access their Twitter account)

They are allowing the entire world to be involved in their creative process. I think that bares repeating: they are allowing the entire world to be involved in their creative process.

Dubbed “Mubla 2.0” (album spelled backwards), their interactive project is allowing any and all music lovers to see, hear, and most importantly, take part in the recording of an album from start to finish.

Never before have I seen a band put so much trust in their fans.

I could continue to talk about it, but I’d rather you head over to http://www.robandkal.com and experience the ingenuity. My blabbering will not do this justice.

I truly respect these guys, and hope you too will see the brilliance in what they are attempting to do.

Christopher Gesualdi is currently the Marketing Director at Ariel Publicity

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