This essay began as an attempt at a simple blog entry, and within only a couple of hours, it quickly developed into something much bigger in size. In an effort to practice what I preach about not over thinking things too much and the value of just getting good content out the door and into public domain, I’m forcing this essay out the door and into this crude pseudo-published form for the sake of “just doing it.” Please forgive any grammar and spelling deficiencies it contains, as I promise to clean it up and re-issue it later on, most likely in the form of an eBook. The later edition will also contain proper citations and references, which I hope to not misquote or harm anyone in the meantime. Thank you for reading and sharing this.
Below is the opening couple of paragraphs, followed by a link where you can download the whole thing in PDF format.
Talking ‘bout a Revolution:
A Manifesto on better understanding the collapse of the music industry and identifying some ideas and strategies for building success, amidst so many unknowns in the music business.
Why is everyone so worried about the current state of the music industry? What is so bad about the current state of things? And moreover, given the ginormous ocean of new technology, Web 2.0 capabilities and the unprecedented access to one’s audience, why are so many people so reluctant to understand and embrace change?
Never before in the history of human kind have artists had the opportunity to be so connected with an audience and have so many unique and inexpensive mediums to deliver their work. This, in fact, may be the most exciting time ever in world of music. Yes, more exciting than when the first caveman beat two rocks together to make a beat. And yes, even more exciting than when The Beatles played the Ed Sullivan show. What too many artists today are failing to realize is that we are in the midst of a revolution. Let me emphasize this better… WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF A REVOLUTION!! Therefore, seize the moment!
Consider this: There is more music being listened to today than ever before in the history of the universe. Do you understand what that means? Can you truly comprehend the impact of that statement? Give it a minute. Let it really sink in…
While disillusioned music industry traditionalists keep complaining and expressing fear about the implosion and nearly complete devastation of everything that once was in the music business… I think we should celebrate. Yes, celebrate!
To read the rest of this, you need to download the PDF here. Enjoy.
Great post Ryan!
As an independent musician and composer for over 20 years, I read your article Talking ‘bout a Revolution with great interest. I also celebrate the demise of the music industry that I once knew and worked in. It never did much for me. The current chaos is much more egalitarian and open. The flip side for listeners of course is Sturgeon’s Law; who has time to wade through all of the crap for the occasional gem. The ideas of Tribes and The Long Tail are compelling, but you leave out an extremely important factor in the success of any musician; opinion leaders, people like yourself. You have a tribe too and it is probably larger that those of most artists. People rely on the opinions of others to assist them in discovering music. Those with influence are highly sought after and you can probably attest to the volume of music samples sent to you in any given week. It must be hard to keep up. The artists that you favor stand a better chance of being noticed than ones you do not. The role of the music blogger or reviewer is now about as close as it gets to the A&R moguls of old.
This article got me all amped up.
After reading this inspiring article, I wanted to share a recent tribe-building experience in my career which, at first, completely took me by surprise but which, in the end, helped me understand how much people want to be a part of something. Here it is:
A few months ago I was given an opportunity to fly to Nashville to work with a Grammy-winning producer for an upcoming EP. Even though the producer severely cut his rate in order to work with me (not to mention hiring Nashville studio cats at a fraction of the rate they would normally charge), it was still going to cost more than I could pony up out of my own checking account.
My fiance had the brilliant idea of emailing every person in his and my email address books to ask them if they would be willing to donate money to help get me to Nashville for this amazing opportunity. I was absolutely floored by the response we received. In a matter of days, we had raised nearly half of the total project budget and people were sending messages back to us like, “Thank you so much for sending this email! I believe in Shannon and love the opportunity to help her in this way.”
With the crazy success of this campaign, we decided to open up the “opportunity” to everyone on my fan email list — about 3,000 people. We produced a new song of mine, “Get Outta Town,” here at our home studio and then pressed up a limited number of CD singles. We made them available to everyone on my mailing list as a thank-you if they were to donate $25 to out get-Shannon-to-Nashville fund. You wouldn’t believe the number of people willing to buy a CD single for $25 in order to be a part making this opportunity happen for me. As a result, I got to go to Nashville 3 weeks ago, record an EP with a Grammy-winning producer, and the record will be released in May — all thanks to my tribe.
Thanks for a great article!
-shannon curtis
David-
Good point about digital influencers. This is the very reason why I recently spent considerable time and investment to build a comprehensive list of nearly 1000 influential music blogs, zines and websites around the world – whom I believe are the most effective and relevant influencers available today.
As I mentioned in my little manifesto, it was only four or five years ago that people went to MTV, Rolling Stone, Spin Magazine, and Top 40 radio to discover new music…and artists would fork out thousands of dollars to compete for a couple inches of ink or a spin on these outlets.
Now, in the digital age, artists can save time and energy by going direct to digital influencers, like bloggers and music fans on Twitter and Facebook. It’s a beautiful thing….and so easy. And even better, when you can do this effectively, you can connect more directly with your fans (your tribe) and empower them to participate. Once you do this, you’ve succeeded. What fans want more than anything is something they can be a part of and believe in.
Shannon-
Damn, you’re a wonderful success story to hear about. You won’t remember this, but we actually talked once at a show. We didn’t talk about anything important…mainly it was just me telling you how much I enjoyed your performance. This was probably about five or six years ago at the good ol’ Green Room in NW Portland (RIP), back when you had Paradigm going strong… Small world, huh?
Your story is simply amazing – thank you for sharing. You are a case study of exactly how this tribe thing works. Do you care to share any other tactics of how you compel your people to participate in what you’re doing and how you lead them to believe in you?
While I see your Myspace presence is going strong, do you have a blog or other interactive tools? Do you Twitter regularly? Do you do anything else special with your email list that gets your people excited?
Somer-
Now that you’re all amped up, what are you going to do?
Give them something to believe in and they’ll follow you anywhere. All you have to do is lead them.
Ryan,
I have been going through the same process fo building up a list of opinion leaders. You are right about the time and effort it takes to find quality sites and people that fit with the style of music. Lou Harrison used to say “Three hours or three measures every day and pretty soon you have a body of work”. That attitude applies to marketing also.
Hey guys-
This does out to Ryan and all the people who posted on this website.
I have created a company that does EXACTLY what Ryan, Seth Godin, and social media experts want musicians to do: connect with their fans on a personal level. Mybandstock.com is the home of The Music Revolution, and we allow the opportunity for fans to buy stock in a band. Bands on the website raise money for album production, and in return, bands give exclusive benefits to fans who buy stock.
Bands essentially create their own “tribe” on our website, and cater to the needs, wants, and desires of the people who love them the most.
God, I’d way rather answer to people who love me than a sweaty old record label exec who can barely even email…
Drew Leahy
President
mybandstock.com
drewleahy.com <<>>
Ryan! I can’t believe what a small world it is, indeed! It would be hard to recognize you from that conversation at the Green Room with those goggles on, though.
So, to answer your question, I do as much as I can to stay connected to my fans as often as possible. I have a new Facebook Group called “I Heart Shannon Curtis,” I Twitter (http://twitter.com/shannoncurtis — I do a lot more Twittering when there is something fun going on, like when I was in Nashville recording), of course there is MySpace, and my new website is a blog (http://shannoncurtis.net).
But honestly, I think the single most importnat thing I do to stay connected with my fans is that I tour A LOT. Even with all the neat ways the internet has provided us to get and stay connected with people, I think there is still no substitute for the experience of a live show. To this end, I put nearly 40,000 tour miles on my VW Jetta last year.
And I release new music often, too, in order for there to be a “reason” for me to tour and a “reason” for my fans to come and see me. The EP of my fan-funded Nashville sessions that will be released in May will be my third release in less than 2 years.
I hope to see you again in Portland one of these days! Although, sadly, not at the Green Room. That was a cool place.
-shannon