...or maybe you just need to guess the talent buyer's favorite color.

Most new bands approach the first part of their careers like this: We need to find an audience, but in order to find an audience we have to play shows. If we want to play shows we have to get a talent buyer to book us, but talent buyers are going to want to know we can draw an audience before they’ll ever consider letting us play. It’s a frustrating catch-22.

Thankfully, it’s also not the only (or even the best) route to finding your first audience or building your initial fan base. It just means that you’re going to have to go around the gatekeepers and find fans somewhere else.

I’ve put together a list of three somewhat unorthodox suggestions to help you break free of the catch-22 and think outside the venue. Each of these three activities is designed to help you find an audience when no talent buyer in town will let you play.

1. Play to the line.

This first idea comes from Martin Atkins. You may not be welcome to play inside, but they can’t stop you from playing outside, can they? Keep track of when big acts come into town. Make sure you’re there and bring something to play. Perform for the line outside the door.

Think about it – they’ve come for music and here they are just waiting outside with nothing to do. So, give them something to listen to! Put up a sign with your band name and pass out demos for free. Give away bottled water if it’s hot, or hot chocolate or cider if it’s cold. Bring someone along to walk around with a clipboard to take down names and email addresses in exchange for buttons or even the demos.

2. Host a living room show.

Leverage the resources and connections that you already have. You have friends, right? Well, invite them all over to your flat and tell them each to bring a friend of their own. Put on an awesome show and hang out afterward to connect and find out who enjoyed your music.

Take down names and email address and network to see if anyone might have an in with a more established band or even a venue. At the very least you’ve built a solid list of people you can count on when you approach that talent buyer next time.

3. Target local listeners online.

I talked about the various online tools available to bands for uncovering potential fans in a recent post. If you are really starting from scratch I would suggest using these online tools first to drill down into your local scene. The line outside the show of an established band in your genre is all but guaranteed to contain people likely to enjoy your own music. In the same way, targeting an established band’s fans online will greatly increase your chances of finding new listeners.

Once you figure out where to find potential listeners you need to initiate a conversation. Notice that I didn’t say that you need to send them messages that say “Check out my MySpace page!” or “Listen to our new album for free!” Those messages are completely unnatural and you’d be better off trying to sell them a vacuum cleaner. A real conversation starts with a simple introduction. You both live in the same city or region (because that’s who you’re targeting right now.) So right away you have something in common. Sending someone a free track will be much more meaningful after it has been established that you are a human being rather than an automated account or a marketing intern.

These online connections can be leveraged in several ways in landing that elusive fist gig. Crowd-source them – find out who would come out if you had a show, and where they like to see bands play the most. Offer an incentive if they commit to coming – a free piece of merch or an exclusive track that only the members of your network who show up will get. If you are really successful in connecting with a decent number of people on Twitter, MySpace or Facebook consider forming a ‘petition’ that includes your new fans’ names and email addresses. I would imagine that your friendly neighborhood talent buyers would be much more receptive to you with something like that in their hands.

No Excuses

The most important concept that I want to get across is that the only person who can hold you back from launching your career is yourself. Booking agents, talent buyers, club owners – none of these people owe you anything. They are never going to care as much about what you are doing as you do, and you shouldn’t expect them to. If one of these gatekeepers is standing in your way there is no reason why you shouldn’t simply find a way to go around them. Independent artists live and die on their ability to find creative solutions for difficult problems. So get creative.

I’ve given three simple suggestions but I’m sure there are artists who have done many crazier things to get their gigging off the ground. What have you found to be successful? What have you tried that has failed miserably? Let me know.

Living room photo by raisin.detre.

In any well-managed business each member of the team has a set of specific measurables to help them – and their employers – know whether or not they’re on track. Without these milestones it can be very difficult to remain focused and accomplish long term goals.

Artists and musicians are no different – except that they may need this structure even more than their white-collar counterparts. A career in music is something that builds slowly and takes constant, focused attention to properly cultivate. The goal is sustainability. You want to have the means to quit your day job and support yourself with your music. It can take years in the trenches to reach that point, and without strategic goals and milestones it is easy to lose focus. The most frustrating thing for an artist to wake up and realize they’re off track and have been treading water for months (or years!)

1,000 True Fans

One of the best music-career milestones that I’ve come across is the concept that Wired co-founder and blogger Kevin Kelly dubbed ’1,000 True Fans.’

The concept is fairly simple, and since most of you are likely already familiar with it I’ll just provide a brief explanation. If an artist can cultivate a base of just 1,000 fans who are radically committed to his work, those fans will provide enough income to support that artist. The theory goes that each ‘true fan’ will spend on average about $100 per year on the artist. That adds up to an annual revenue stream of $100,000. Even after expenses that should be enough for any individual artist to live comfortably.

There is a common argument against the 1,000 True Fans concept. If you are a member of a band it may have jumped out at you right away. $100,000 per year gross may be enough for an individual artist, but once you divvy that up between the members of a four- or five-piece band it starts looking a bit measly.

Fortunately, the math isn’t as bad as it sounds. Remember – these 1,000 True Fans represent only the most committed subsection of your fan base. There many other fans - what Kevin Kelly calls ‘Lesser Fans’ – contributing to your career. I’m not going to use the term ‘Lesser Fans’ because I don’t like it. Instead, I’d rather use the terminology that Tom Silverman used at the New Music Seminar here in Chicago on October 6. Silverman split fans into four categories: super fans, active fans, passive fans and potential fans.

Think of your fan base as a pyramid. The super fans are the smallest group, but contribute the most revenue per fan. They’re at the top. Beneath them you have a much larger group of active fans. Instead of spending $100/year, these fans may spend closer to $20/year on your products and shows. Yet, because there are about five times more active fans than super fans, their gross contribution ends up being about the same – $100,000 annually. The total revenue from these two groups is $200,000/year.

Below that you have your passive fans. Again, there are about five times more passive fans than active fans, but they only download your most popular singles, resulting in a spend of about $2 per year. This group contributes about $50,000 per year.

Potential fans of course make up the largest group at the base of the pyramid. These are people that may not be aware of your work, but who have an appreciation for the style or genre of music you play. Maybe they follow similar bands. This group contributes only a fraction of the revenue of the previous group, but when it all adds up may equal something along the lines of $5,000 per year.

That brings our total to about $255,000, or a quarter of a million dollars. Split that up four ways and although you won’t be able to afford that Bentley you’ve always wanted, you each should be living comfortably. And remember, this is just the revenue coming directly from your fans. This does not include sync licensing, sponsorships, grants, royalties, etc. The actually number could be closer to $300,000.

To 1,000 and beyond

The 1,000 True Fan marker is a milestone, but your career shouldn’t stop there. Obviously, you want as many people as possible to hear and enjoy your music. The bigger the tip of the pyramid gets, the more that will trickle down into the rest of your fanbase. Each super fan is going to influence several other people (sometimes hundreds, thanks to social media) and evangelize a few new active and passive fans who have to potential to one day become super fans themselves.

In a follow-up post I’m going to address how to go about cultivating these 1,000 True Fans. One of the most frequent questions that arises when this concept is discussed is, ‘How do I get there?’ I’ve put together some strategies that will hopefully help to answer that question.

In the meantime, is this outline clear? Let me know your questions, comments, concerns and I will try to incorporate them into the follow-up to make sure all of this is as helpful as possible.

I got a call from a friend of mine yesterday to tell me about a gig he had played the night before. He’s just getting started again after taking a few years off and has been struggling for a few months to get his new act off the ground. The gig was a simple open mic night here in Chicago. Each act got to perform a song or two and the audience voted with their applause. At the end of the night three finalists were chosen to receive prizes and chances to get a slot on a regular night. My friend was not one of those finalists.

This guy has talent. He is a remarkable lyricist and classically trained on his instrument. He writes original, beautifully arranged music. So why didn’t the audience show him love?

Having a good head on his shoulders, my friend decided to ask a few people that he trusts what they thought he might be doing wrong. Both gave him the same answer – his voice. “Your songs are great, but…” In truth, they weren’t telling him anything he didn’t already know. Yet, sometimes having a clear perspective on your music isn’t easy. What it is gets all tangled up with what you want it to be.

What do you do when you find out that you aren’t good enough? Because let’s be honest – there are plenty of fish in the sea. Musicians, songwriters, and performers all but grow on trees. If you’re going to make it you’d better either be great, or have something so compelling to say that listeners are willing stick it out in spite of the rough edges. So, assuming you aren’t there already, how do you get there?

The best place to start is to take a step back and do your best to make a realistic assessment of what you’re good at. Figure out what it is that you bring to the table that nobody else can. Everybody’s got something. Maybe you write great hooks, or build custom synths that make sounds no one’s heard before, or maybe your a virtuoso pianist. Now take a moment to feel good about yourself. Warm and fuzzy? Awesome.

Now for the fun part. Set all that stuff aside. Once you subtract everything that you already do excellently there are two remaining categories. Both categories consist of the skills that are necessary to be a successful artist that you just aren’t very good at. Could be lyrics, could be arrangements, or like my friend the problem could be with your voice. Some of these these missing ingredients are likely within your reach. The potential is already there, and with the right coaching and a whole lot of hard work you can develop and master the skill. That’s the first category.

The second category consists of the areas where you just can’t realistically expect to compete. No matter how hard you try, you just can’t make it work. Sometimes this one can be painful. But if you can make an honest, accurate assessment of what’s holding you back you will be one step closer to reaching the place you need to be.

Now take the items in the first category. Do them. Take a class on poetry, or music theory, or voice lessons or whatever it’s going to take to realize your full potential in those areas. This will undoubtedly take lot’s of time, energy and money. I realize that you don’t have enough of any of those as it is – no one does. If you count the cost and find that you aren’t willing to make the necessary sacrifices there are plenty of other industries where you might be happier. No shame in that. But if you’re serious about a career in music you’re going to have to donate the sweat.

In the meantime, take the second category and outsource it. The whole thing. Get that stuff off your plate. Find a producer, hire musicians, find someone to sing your songs. Build a team of people that can be successful together.

This can be so hard for some artists. There is a cultural perception that an artist has to be this tortured, romantic soul creating in self-imposed isolation. The truth is that while there has been some remarkable work that has been produced under these kinds of conditions I believe that it’s the exception, not the rule. Surround yourself with talented people who fill in the gaps in your skill set. You will find that you are much more successful and yes, even much more creative.

Taking an honest assessment of your skills – and involving those whose opinion and tastes you trust – is not easy. But it isn’t the biggest challenge you’re likely to face as you try to build and sustain a career in the music business. Having an understanding early on of what you can and can’t do, and what just needs some more work will set you apart in the crowded sea of new talent.

As for my friend, we talked about his situation a bit and decided on a plan. We both believe that vocal proficiency is within his potential, so he’ll be pursuing voice training. In the meantime, he’s going to be bringing on a female vocalist to carry the current arrangements. He’ll do back-up and gradually transition back to the front over time. Eventually the two of them will share lead vocal responsibilities. It’s a good plan, and I believe it will make him more successful in both the short- and long-term.

What is it that you need to improve? Is there something you need to break down and outsource to someone more able than yourself? Have you already had to make some of these difficult decisions in the past? Leave your comments and let me know.

Here’s a recap of what went on in the music industry over the past two weeks. Make sure to check out anything you might have missed and leave your comments. There’s a lot of great discussion happening in the comments section of a few of these. As always, if you know something we don’t submit a story.

Most Popular:

• Imogen Heap Shows that DIY Pays Off – And takes a Lot of Work - Taking an objective look at what some are calling the ‘new music business model.’
• Video Pick: Carina Round ‘Backseat’ - Renewed interest in this one after it got some attention from Carina Round herself.

This Week:

• New Music Releases August 25th - New offerings from Blitzen Trapper, Mew and Imogen Heap.
• The Defining Sound of this Decade is… Undefined - This decade is drawing to a close and there is yet to be a truly definitive sound. Why?
• ‘An Old Man’s Perspective’ on the Current State of Rock and Roll - Music industry vet David Sherbow tells it like he sees it.
• The Importance of Innovation in Music - You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, but a little innovation can go a long, long way.
• New Music Releases September 1st - David Bazan, mewithoutyou, They Might Be Giants, Pete Yorn, Apples in Stereo and much more.
• The ‘Paradox of Choice’ in the Music Industry - How the abundance of new artists is actually causing listeners to enjoy music less.
• Record Sales Haven’t Hit Bottom Yet - Record sales had their worst month so far in August, plus some interesting figures related to digital downloads and the effects of  iTunes variable pricing.

Coming Soon:

• What Do You Do When You Just Aren’t Good Enough? – Your weaknesses don’t have to keep you from a successful career in music.
• New Music Releases September 8th – Yo La Tengo, Pete Yorn, Vivian Girls, Amerie and a bunch more.

This Week in Music History:

1954 - To coincide with the release of his second single, ‘Good Rockin’ Tonight’, Elvis Presley, along with Bill Black and Scotty Moore made their first appearance at The Grand Old Opry. The audience reaction was so poor, the Opry’s manager, Jim Denny told Elvis that he should go back to driving a truck. (This Day In Music)

The future of the music industry as we know it will depend on how it responds now that the product on which they’ve built their empire is no longer profitable. While the major players are intrenched in red tape and beauracracy, independent artists and record labels have an incredible opportunity to adapt and thrive under the new market conditions. So here’s the question: what do listeners and consumers value, and how can artists provide it to them in a way that enriches the experience of their music?

Six Different Forms of Supplemental Scarcity

First a little recap. Recorded music lost a lot of value when it transitioned to digital formats. Digital files can be freely copied an infinite number of times, which means that demand can never catch up. How can finite demand compete with infinite supply? (Read more about this subject here.)

That’s where ‘supplimental scarcity’ comes in. The idea is that if you have an infinite good such as digital music, something scarce (as in, existing in limited supply) must be offered alongside it in order to add value. There is a fantastic article at the Technium that has become something of an Internet classic. In it, author Kevin Kelly describes eight different forms of supplemental scarcity.  I have chosen the six concepts that I felt were most relevant and applied them directly to the business of being an artist. I’ll talk about three of them here and the rest in a separate post due to length.

1. Personalization

Fans love feeling like they are part of the music - part of the experience. Personalization makes the experience that much more valuable. The different ways that an artist can personalize their products for their fans are limitless. Jill Sobule, in an effort to fund her next album and avoid signing with a record label, offered personalization in exchange for donations on her site. Donate 10 grand and you get to sing on the record. Five thousand dollars bought you a private concert in your living room. There were different “gifts” at each donation size, each one welcoming the fan further into the process in some way. Sobule’s fans loved it and she reached her goal of $75k in only 53 days.

A more classic example of personalization would be to utilize packaging to engage fans. Radiohead recently charged an arm and a leg for a special-edition vinyl package of In Rainbows. Imagine what they could have charged if they had offered to sign and dedicate a limited number of copies. Offer something unique at key gigs in order to drive ticket sales, and make sure you aren’t offering it anywhere else. Provide functionality on your website that caters the user’s experience based on a profile they create for themselves. I could go on and on, but you’ll be most successful if you and your band figure out what kind of personalization would be most valuable for your core fans and working out a way to give it to them.

2. Interpretation

Authors have been doing this for decades at their book signings. They come to a local bookstore with their new hardcover novel displayed prominently, and their fans show up to hear them talk about the new book. What was the author’s inspiration? What was his process? Where did he write it? What does it mean to him? They go out of their way to meet the author in person so that they can hear his interpretation of his work. This kind of interpretation is even better suited to music because lyrics are so often somewhat cryptic and mysterious. Find an unique way to let some of your fans in on your secrets – I guarantee they will be more committed to your art when you are finished with them.

3. Authenticity

The music industry has suffered a huge blow in this category over the past decade. Elements of pop music have always had an element of fake-ness to them – those acts are meant to provide entertainment, not create art. Yet, from the assembly-line boy bands to the Britney Spears albums written by pale-faced men in their fifties, I think the industry has overplayed its hand. Listeners want something real.

There are a lot of different ways to let fans know that what they are getting is authentic. Release a studio b-side of something you recorded when you were just goofing around. Live albums can have a similar effect. Think about the prevalence of online file-sharing and illegal copying. If a listener is downloading a track on Limewire she has no idea what it will sound like once it’s finished. Yet, if she knows that the download is coming straight from the band itself she can trust that she’s getting the very best quality out there – first generation stuff. Kevin Kelly writes, “Digital watermarks and other signature technology will not work as copy-protection schemes… but they can serve up the generative quality of authenticity for those who care.” Find ways to set the products you sell apart from those who resell them. Bonus tracks, bundled music videos, etc. Anything that will let your fans know that what they are purchasing has come straight from you.

Share Your Ideas

So there you go: personalization, interpretation, and authenticity. I have only related the basic concepts here – there is so much that can be done with this list. Let me know what you think, and please post what you come up with in the comments section so that everyone can benefit! If you follow a band that has done something creative or innovative with supplemental scarcities please share that as well. The last three items on the list, embodiment, patronage and findability are described in Part Three. I’ll try to have it finished up and published here by tomorrow so check back soon. Also, remember that you can find out when new articles post by following me on Twitter.

In the CD’s heyday the average price of a disc reached nearly $19. Record companies took in huge margins and saw unprecedented growth. Now, less than a decade later entire albums are being given away free of charge all across the Internet. Even superstars are giving their records away. So… what happened? How did the recording industry go from lucrative cash cow to staggering giant in such a short span of time?

Supply and Demand

There are a host of reasons for the declining price of recorded music, but at its heart is the issue of supply and demand. The more demand you have for a product that is limited in availability (generally known as a ‘scarce good,’) the higher the price of the product will rise. Conversely, if the availability of the product exceeds demand, price will be driven lower in an attempt to increase demand and move excess units. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that at this point the supply of recorded music far exceeds demand. In fact, it just about obliterates it.

One reason for this is competition. As the production of recorded music becomes cheaper and easier, more and more bands are flooding the market with their tracks, hoping to get heard. The choices available to listeners have become nearly limitless. There are just too many artists vying for a finite number of fans. Bands are giving away their music in an effort to increase their share of the listener pie.

Infinity vs. The Recording Industry

There is more to the issue, though. The transition from physical CDs to digital downloads has introduced a new challenge into the industry. The model of supply and demand is built upon the concept of scarce goods – if there is no limit to the availability of a product, it is impossible for there to be enough demand to make it profitable. How can finite demand overtake infinite supply? This is exactly the challenge with monetizing digital music files. Digital files are infinite goods – they can be copied ad infinitum at no cost, and no significant investment of time. This is why the price of music has dropped, and this is why so much recorded music has been made available for free. The transition from physical to digital made free recorded music an inevitability.

Three Ways to Respond

Inevitable or not, this decline in value presents artists and rest of the music business with a real challenge. Strategies have to change. If digital music files themselves hold little value, value has to be added from somewhere else. The industry has three main options for accomplishing this, all of them related to adding scarcity to the infinite-ness of digital music.

1. Artificial Scarcity

Otherwise known as DRM. What Digital Rights Management is designed to do is place artificial limits on digital files that prevent them from being copied. I call this ‘artificial scarcity’ because while real scarcity has a direct, positive effect on value, DRM actually decreases the value of music. DRM has been proven time and time again to inhibit consumers from legitimate use. Even as a kid I remember being frustrated that I couldn’t bring a video game over to a friend’s house because it was only registered on my PC at home. I wasn’t going to copy it for him, we just wanted to play it while we were at his house! Regardless of their own personal experiences, most people can’t stand DRM. The consumer backlash has been so overwhelming that even Apple – notoriously IP centric – decided to get rid of DRM, and was even willing to raise prices past their trademark 99 cent/song in order to get the major labels to drop it. Consumers aren’t fooled by artificial scarcity, they just get irritated and take their business somewhere else.

2. Legislative Scarcity

Otherwise known as the RIAA. I’m referring here to the practice of issuing threats or actual legal action against individuals and institutions who engage in sharing digital music. This is by far the least sensible approach. First of all, it just isn’t practical. RIAA – you’re really going to go after individuals one by one until you have fined every single file-sharer or frightened the rest into compliance? How’s that going for you so far?

More importantly, though, these aggressive and costly lawsuits are a PR disaster. The record industry has never had the best image with consumers, but now they have taken whatever they had and dragged it through the gutter. The RIAA, with the blessing of the larger recording industry, has turned consumers and fans into crooks, thieves and pirates. Never mind that these same people have shown themselves to be the industry’s single largest group of paying customers. It’s just bad business!

3. Supplemental Scarcity

 The idea here is simple: accept the fact that technology has decreased the value of digital music files and find something else to sell.  It is sad to think of music in any form as being devalued, but the benefit of this approach is that it is the only one that embraces innovation rather than trying to suppress it.

So what do we sell? There are many ways to use this new market reality to the advantage of the independent artist. I will talk more about the different scarcities that can provide value along with recorded music in Part II,  as well as how those different revenue streams can add up to a successful career for an independent artist. So stay tuned, and please feel free to add your comments below.

I am all about the do it yourself approach. Artists who are also jack of all trades will be much more successful in the early stages of their careers than those who wait for others to come along and handle the ‘business side’ for them. With that said, there does come a point where all bands need to ask for help.

The first thing that most bands think of when it comes to adding non-musicians to the team is management. In a way that makes sense, but there are also a couple of problems. First of all, most bands don’t understand what artist management is and what exactly managers are responsible for. In the new music industry a band manager should primarily be focused on finding funding for what your band is doing. If you do decide to go the record label route, they will be the one negotiating contracts, ensure that the label meets their obligations, etc. They should also be intimately involved with your development as a band/artist. A good manager is making sure that you are constantly growing and maturing in your art. Of course, most decent managers won’t even talk to a band who doesn’t have some infrastructure already in place.

Start with booking and PR. More gigs equal more money, and more PR equals more gigs. These people can be freelancers, part-timers, generous fans or even specific members of the band – the most important thing is that the responsibility is owned by someone who is willing and capable. I would recommend outsourcing booking to an agent, simply because they will have connections that you don’t. It will take some research to find a good agent or agency, but you should be able to find everything you need online.

PR can either be done by a few different people who work the press in different areas or who target different types of publications/media outlets, or by one person who is in charge of getting your name out everywhere. Honestly, the best place in the world to find PR contacts is on Twitter. Twitter is crawling with PR folks! Take a look at their profiles before you contact them – there are different PR people for different industries.

The best place to find contacts in booking, PR, management – or anything else for that matter - is your existing network of fellow artists and bands. Figure out who you know that is working with someone and see if you can get them to refer you. They might even get a good kickback in the process.

Once you have gigs flowing and a decent level of press exposure, attracting a good manager will be much easier. Artist managers like taking on bands that have already proven that they have some business sense and follow through in addition to their talent.