Bob Baker's Indie Music Promotion Blog

News, notes and ideas on music marketing, self-promotion, artist empowerment and more

December 13, 2005

Your Lousy Music Career

Joe Taylor made some great comments last week on his Spinme.com blog regarding ongoing media reports about "lousy" CD and concert ticket sales. He pointed out that a major label's definition of "lousy" can be an indie artist's ticket to a thriving career.

How can that be? Because today's audiences are fractured -- something I touched on early this year with my observations on the Grammy Awards (which I recently turned into a podcast).

Then Joe posed this rhetorical question:

Would the world be more vibrant if one out of a hundred professional musicians made $100,000 per year, as opposed to one out of ten thousand musicians making ten million dollars per year?

Of course, his answer was a resounding YES. These days, there are countless opportunities for artists who operate under the radar screen and cater to niche audiences.

Joe also offered up this bit of reality-check wisdom:

The deflation of the mainstream recording industry as we know it opens up tremendous opportunities for working musicians. And I mean "working." You can't sit back and wait to be discovered -- you've got to go build your own audience. If the labels aren't willing to get out of bed to chase niche audiences and "small" markets, all the better for you.

I agree. The opportunities are there. Are you willing to work to uncover them?

-Bob

posted by Bob Baker @ 10:30 AM   3 comments

3 Comments:

At Dec 24, 2005 2:08:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I agree
Its a matter of pulling your self
up and out of the trenches and house tha chesse before the big cats come around

 
At Dec 24, 2005 7:56:00 AM, Blogger Evan Tate said...

Great piece of wisdom and insight. Nothing worse than hearing "no" can't happen to anybody. So go for it!

 
At Dec 24, 2005 12:04:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Niche markets are out there waiting for the indie artist. The Almost Patsy Cline Band, using Bob Baker's wise words, has discovered the Baby Boomers love vintage country and rock music. We've sold over 2000 of our first CD from the stage this year. Thanks for all the great tips, Bob!

Lanette Pennell

 

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