The Art of Music Monetization: “The Age of Freedom”
At this late date, I think we’ve ALMOST reached the point where enough of us “older” musicians have gone away (or simply shut-up) that we are no longer comparing the “new” economy of music streaming with the “old” way things used to be… That’s good. The bad news is that without something to compare the new and old to that many musicians have lost their ability to talk about the business of music at all. Despite my writing and some of the other excellent resources coming on-line, there is a malaise upon our industry born of half truths and completely wrong information. I hear people talking about feeling “trapped” and “untethered” or even “overwhelmed” at how things are currently done. They want FREEDOM!!! (insert “Braveheart” reference). Fear not, dear reader! I am here to proclaim this is the “Age of Freedom”. No, seriously… it is. But freedom isn’t for you, it’s for the listener.
The weird thing about humans is that they want their “freedom” given to them in bite size pieces that they can “control” and deal with against the backdrop of life which seems to be moving at light-speed. To some artists, “freedom” can seem like chaos without a step-by-step guide to how exactly to create, release, promote and monetize your music.
If you have read all my blogs about monetizing your music, you see that there are definite steps to take (and not take) on the way to being effective. This might be the toughest thing of all to do: be disciplined, patient and focused. You say you are being “focused”? Really, for a day? How about for 18–24 months? To be streamed consistently, you have to earn your way on the list and then you really have to earn your way to the top five spots. You might ask what “earn” means in this context: it means trust and that your music consistently is what people want to USE when they are studying, working, bathing, driving or whatever they associate your music with.
Music is about use — not listening. This is the KEY philosophical change that artists must make to be successful at monetization.
HERE’S THE TRUTH: Your being successful at monetization (long-term) has absolutely nothing to do with you, what you look like or who you are dating. Nothing. Nada. Can your music be playlisted and used as people need it to be? Hint: That’s not up to do you… That’s up to the people using your music.
MORE TRUTH: Being successful at music monetization is not like turning on a spigot of cash. Nonetheless, I am constantly asked for “tips” on “the thing” that will have their streaming revenue go up exponentially. Consider, that much of why a song works on a playlist is because it works on a playlist. I don’t mean to sound obtuse, however, people create playlists to create/reflect a mood, go with an activity or to add to some part of their lives (improve sleep, etc.) It’s functional. In a world of functional “use”, patience is important. Us musicians are terrible at being patient.
Why is patience such a virtue in an age that is moving at light speed? Well, because the pull of the world is to force an outcome versus prepare a result based on integrity. Secondly, the delusion that you will become a “star” overnight has been propagated since the dawn of time. So, you might be a “star” on-line (for a moment) but that doesn’t create the traction that leads to long-term monetization for your entire catalog.
I have a song: “I Have Loved You for a Thousand Lifetimes” that has more than 34,000,000 streams on Spotify. I have tried for years to replicate that success. I have failed. Why? Beacuse I once believed that streaming success was about creating massive “hits” versus amortizing the use of my recorded music catalog across hundreds of songs. Said simply: I see now that instead of trying to force the outcome of ONE song — I can bring to bare the 16,000+ playlists that 225 of my songs are as the actual driver for my success at streaming. What did it take to do this? Patience. Discipline. And understanding that the true “freedom” of music streaming lives in empowering the choices of my listeners and fans; not in indulging the immature “star boy” fantasies that come over me occassionally.
Long-term success at music monetization does not allow for “one hit wonders”…
For those of you who need it — here’s your step-by-step “guide” of a few things to do while you are being patient and building your music streaming catalog:
- Write great music.
- Make sure that your content is properly tagged, described, key-worded and decorated with compelling art that engages at the size of a postage stamp. (The single biggest factor in why a new listener might click on your song is the thumbnail picture. Yup. Seriously.)
- Release it through your aggregator. “Opt-in” for aggregation to all platforms. (That’s usually the default for most aggregators).
- Consider sending your music to a radio promoter so that those not entirely on-line who are looking to hear new music will discover it that way. If you are a pop artist, radio might not work without the muscle of a label.
- Empower your fans to share their playlists with your music on it. Create a “street team” of fans who want to be part of the process. They can create user generated content (YouTube) that will be automatically monetized. Getting a reccomendation from a fan is far more compelling than responding to a “boosted” post on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and soon… others.
- Create collaborative playlists with your fellow artists. Start seeing your colleagues as channels to new fans; not as competitors.
- Share your music on your social media channels in a way that creates a clear narrative for new listeners for why they should stop and listen. This is a little tricky… Read this.
- Play shows and share those performances on-line. Do on-line “shows” via Facebook Live, Concert Window and Stage It. Part of your narrative as an artist is that you play, perform and that your music lives beyond the recording.
Still looking for “freedom” in the streaming era? OK. You can do whatever you do and see how it goes. You might have a track that is a fluke “hit” and you might do OK with it. Once. For a short-time. But can you replicate that success over and over again? Answer: no, you can’t. So, settle-in for the long-haul… focus and get patient…
