Working in music is more than just a nine to five job—it requires a lot of commitment, often for not a lot of compensation or recognition. It doesn’t help that there is so much misinformation out there about how to get into the music industry and what to do once you’re there.
So, here we have a few truths about the music biz. While intended for musicians, they are useful for those on the business side of things too. Some are encouraging, and some fall into the category of a reality check. They all, however, are pretty important to understand.
Knowing music doesn’t mean you know the music business
Nailing the pub music quiz, going to tons of shows, being able to rattle off a list of labels—these sorts of things don’t automatically make you able to book the shows, run the labels, and so on.
There are practicalities, financial and otherwise, in the music business that are simply not apparent until you actually have to, say, make sure the CD run is on schedule and the review is really going to be published when promised. Even if you understand the relationship between labels, distributors, and retail, for example, you don’t really “get it” until you experience the process from the inside rather than experiencing it as a fan. The two worlds are VERY different.
Make no mistake: Loving music and knowing a lot about it is required if you want to do well in the music industry (well, not really REQUIRED; some people running music businesses don’t know much about music and are just skating, but they eventually end up falling through the ice). However, don’t enter the music industry with the idea that a lifetime of music nerd-dom has made you a music biz expert. Not only will you annoy people, but you’ll also be dead wrong and miss out on the chance of really learning what makes things tick.
Reviews don’t translate into sales
At least, not always. Getting reviewed all over the place may be good for getting your name out there, but even if you can point to 50 reviews that all say your album is the pinnacle of music-making and no one should even try to record again because it’s so impossible to beat, the percentage of people who run out and buy your record based on those reviews is going to be surprisingly small. Radio play is much more effective at selling music than print reviews.
Reviews are only part of the picture. You can use them to generate interest from labels and to book shows and so on. But even if you get reviewed in all of the top publications and sites for your genre of music, don’t assume it’s time to go out shopping for the fancy new car. If you don’t work to leverage those reviews into something else, they’ll just be a minor blip on the screen.
You can still make money selling your music
Now, here’s a controversial one. There is a big debate going on in the music industry about free music, and some people believe that all music must be free and that the only way to make money is merchandise and live shows. That’s a little extreme. Yes, music sales are decreasing. Yes, free music is widely available.
The fact remains that your fans want you to keep making music and they are willing to pay you for your services so you can keep it up. The trick is striking the right balance between enticing your fans with free goodies and offering them the chance to buy quality music at a fair price in the format that they want.
There’s no blanket answer here for what will work for you. Trends in terms of releases and release formats are different in different genres of music. If your fans want vinyl, save up your pennies and give it to them. If they’re all digital, all the time, then give it to them. If they want CDs, give them CDs. (And, yes, people still buy CDs. Really.)
You have to know your fanbase. It might take some trial and error to find out what works. The one thing you can do, however, is dismiss the idea that your music is nothing but a promotional item created to sell T-shirts, coffee mugs, and concert tickets. Merch IS important, and it should be part of your plan. It just shouldn’t be THE plan.
