At Quite Great, our philosophy has always been about being professional, tailoring our services in music marketing to suit each client, creating a special bond with artists and companies, and last but not least, getting results that are truly beneficial to everyone involved. We have over 15 years of experience in the industry working with a diverse array of talent, including Newton Faulkner, Sandi Thom, Russell Watson and Jamie Cullum. We’re always willing to share little tidbits of knowledge that help emerging artists get the attention they deserve, allowing them to understand this very tough industry.
Exposure, or more specifically the lack of it, is the main problem that even the most talented artists worry about. You can have the guitar skills of Keith Richards or the voice of Adele, yet find only dead ends in terms of having your talent appreciated. The main cause for this is often a misunderstanding of music marketing. Don’t feel too bad, it’s impossible for one person to have the knowledge of a whole team of people, but there are many ways a solo artist or band can understand the mechanics of music marketing and get their creations heard.
Music Think Tank gives some handy tips on getting to grips with marketing yourself, as Shaun Letang explains: “A lot of musicians when starting out feel like if they make their music good enough, they will get noticed – that all they have to do is record a good album, make it available to people in stores (or somewhere online) and their music will start making sales and getting downloads. While I can see why people would think this, it’s far from the truth! Anyone who’s tried this tactic before will know that this isn’t the case. All that happens is you make zero or very few sales. Being talented and letting people know about your talent are two very different things. As well as making music that people actually want to listen to, you need to get them to give you a listen in the first place. After all, how will people know you’re talented if they don’t give you that initial chance?”
Being good at music marketing is simple really. You just need to really focus on putting yourself out there, both in traditional and innovative ways, as Shaun says. Simply putting your music online will not do the trick, as we have said before, you need to galvanise the whole spectrum of the digital sphere, as well as those avenues where you get to interact with potential fans in real life.
On the latter subject, Green Buzz gives a quality word of advice, focusing on quality over quantity, in their article 8 Rules: Marketing in the Music Industry, saying: “prioritise connecting with fans one by one over applications that “autobot” fans onto your social networking sites. This will inspire loyalty in your fan base and will ultimately be the most effective way in turning potential fans into super fans.”
Always remember, finding a modicum of success in this the music industry is tough for even the most seasoned artist, but taking time to really think about marketing yourself will help exponentially.