Don't Believe The Hype - Part 2

If you haven't read Part 1 of Don't Believe The Hype yet (posted below), it's a MUST READ! The post is based on a Twitter conversation between Sam and Derek Webb formerly of Caedmon's Call (and also one of the founders of NoiseTrade.com, a service which provides a vehicle through which Indie musicians can offer their content to potential fans for free and/or a "Tip" from those acquiring the content). The tweet directly following this paragraph is from Derek Webb:

“@SamFisherJr also, you have your facts wrong. i’m not nor have i ever been indie. so i make what i claimed to make. please correct your post” (link)

 Whenever I speak out against the myriad of third party services espousing that they’ve discovered the way to help indie artists “make it in the biz”, Im always troubled by the disconnect between what they’re saying and the reality of the “situation on the ground”.

If you “are not, nor have never been an indie” how on earth would you even begin to understand what an indie goes through? If Im going to get advice from someone and change my philosophy based on what they think, I want them to know what its like to walk in my shoes.

Do you wanna know why I fight so hard to protect indie artists and devote my whole career to trying to put more money in their pockets and give them the exposure they desperately need to survive?

Because I was one of you.

I know what its like to play covers in the corner of a bar and be completely ignored for three hours…

I know what its like to beg, borrow and sell blood to record and press a cd and play completely empty bars and clubs hoping to sell enough to buy a ham sandwich and gas.

I know what its like to sleep two to a bed in a Motel 6 outside of Hoboken NJ because we only made 70% of the money from people who paid to see us.

I’ve designed my own flyers and posted them.

I’ve collected email addresses the hard way (walking around the club after a set and writing each one down).

I’ve used Myspace, Facebook, Last FM, PureVolume, Twitter, Soundclick, etc.

You name it.

No label help.

No team of marketing people.

No publicist.

And guess what?

We succeeded.

We sold over 30,000 units independently.

We toured over 200 dates a year in a van we bought and paid for.

We sold out every club in our home state for 2-3 years before we stopped touring.

You see, Im not a label suit that’s trying to hold on to your last penny of revenue. I believe the majors will crumble and I believe industry will be better for it.

I’m one of you.

One day about 10 years ago, I promised that if I ever got to a position to help others like me, I would do EVERYTHING it took to do so. And here I am.

When I questioned Derek Webb in Part 1 of Dont Believe the Hype, I was again met with the “thousands of artists have made a living giving away their music” mantra. Yet, not one artist has come forward to support that claim. And, I’ll admit, I don’t have access to an artist’s accounting, but I find it curious that NO ONE has stepped forward to champion this strategy.

I’ve talked to a handful of artists who have used Noisetrade and yet they still have to set up Kickstarter campaigns to fund their next record or their next tour.

When I was an indie, we paid for our records using revenue from cd sales, tour revenue, merch sales and licensing.

News flash–if you’re giving away your music and you still can’t tour or make a record without asking for donations, you aint making it in the music biz.

But I digress…

I said that I would give my suggestions for making it in music. Just to be clear, I define making a living from music as earning revenue from selling cd, downloads, streams, touring, licensing and merchandise. You dont need a part time job. You dont need investors, you dont need donations. You are self-sufficient. Im also assuming you’ve put in the work to develop yourself. 

• Play shows ALL THE TIME – I’m always shocked when I look at an artist’s tour page and see one performance a month. Get out and PERFORM! Early on, you’ll have to play cover gigs, you’ll have to take free gigs, you’ll have to play coffee shops for tips. Doesn’t matter. Every time a human hears you, you should be singing something to them. This will hone your skills, give you confidence and give you the opportunity to…
• Collect contact information Just because everyone hangs out online for 4-6 hours a day doesn’t mean that you have to stalk them on Facebook to get them to support you. I’m amazed that the bands I work with now consider a robust email list an afterthought. The emotional connection Derek talked about in his post? Yeah, you blow someone’s mind playing a live show and they’ll get goosebumps every time they hear your name. Get their email. NOTE: you do know that with an email address you can get to them on Facebook right? And how cool would it be if you reached out to someone and led with “I enjoyed meeting you after my show. Thank you for taking time to speak. I’d love to update you whenever I have something significant coming up”. *Sidenote here: I said SOMETHING SIGNIFICANT. Dont bombard folks with updates of where you had lunch, the tv show you watched, etc. When something big happens let them know. Otherwise, leave them alone. Unless you plan to…
• Give them something People like stuff. They like to feel special. So make them feel special. Got a really cool sounding demo just laying around? Send it to them. Shot an awesome video of you covering one of their favorite artists? (everyone lists their favorite bands on Facebook, why don’t you know who they like?) Send it to them. Then you…
• Ask your fans to spread the word Every time you send them something, ask them if they will send it to their friends and ask their friends to support you. Just promise me that you’ll…
• Stop giving away VALUABLE content “But you just said to give them something!” I did. But you will never hear me say “Give away that studio recording you spent hundreds or thousands of dollars to produce. That’s asinine. This is where my frustration lies with Noisetrade and their ilk. I spent about 6 hours hanging around the site listening to songs on Noisetrade and noticed that the quality of recording was superb. Professional. Derek is ridiculously talented AND a producer. He can create amazing records all by himself with an mbox and a tin can. Unless you have the same skill, you’re probably paying someone to do it. (you should probably pay Derek; seriously, he’s THAT good) That’s expensive. Stop giving away your blood, sweat and tears. It cost money to make. It should cost money to hear it. “But I want people to hear my music so they’ll buy it” Fair enough. That’s why…
• You only stream samples from YOUR website What’s the deal with providing free streaming content on Reverbnation, Bandcamp, Bandpages, etc? Notice that iTunes and Amazon sell your music and won’t let a soul hear more than 90 seconds. Why should they care more about your music than you do? Again, you’re promoting the service more than you’re promoting you. Have they sent you any share of the ad revenue they receive? Do you get .0000229 per stream? Then why are you letting people listen to your blood, sweat and tears for FREE on someone else’s site. Your Facebook page, twitter stream, Google + stream should scream LISTEN TO SAMPLES ON MY WEBSITE.COM You’re most likely paying $4.99 a month to have a website + hosting. USE YOUR SITE. Now you’re ready to…
• Sell something The biggest hurdle for indie artists these days is that there are too many outlets available to give stuff away but not enough artists realize the revenue opportunities available to them. I started Lucas Gambit Music to assist indie artists in marketing and selling their music and finding all of the income streams for their assets. Shot an awesome video for your awesome single? You can get paid by Vevo and Youtube every time someone watches that puppy. Hang out at a church? Notice those really cool videos they play to give the band time to leave the stage? Did you know that Vimeo will sell your song to video producers who want to use your song in their bumper videos. Set up your own direct to fan solution to sell cds.  Put together a real digital sales strategy other than sending the album to Tunecore or CD Baby.  They take money too without doing anything to help you sale the music.  Be strategic.  Don’t just toss your music out there.  Maybe do an iTunes exclusive and then deliver the content to a handful of other services over time.  Streaming doesn’t pay much. But it pays more than free. Be careful with streaming though. Dont do it too early in what we call the “release cycle”. Let the record take its course. Hold off delivering your content to Spotify, Slacker, Pandora, etc until at least 12 months after the record has been released. People should only be able to hear a full song from you if they’ve paid something for it.
• You’re a business, act like one None of this “hand to mouth” stuff. Get and maintain a part time job to feed yourself, pay the rent and keep you warm. Every penny (or micro-penny) you make should go BACK into your music. Every dollar earned represents a dollar you can use to move your business forward. Work your way out of job. Have a separate account for cd sales, one for merchandise, and one for touring. Play the cover gigs (who often pay guarantees) to support a tour to new markets.

 I’m not saying that if you do all of these things, you will make a living. A number of factors (wrong timing, wrong sound, you’re not good enough, the economy stinks) prevent anyone from predicting success. What I can guarantee is that you will earn and keep more of YOUR money. Noisetrade sells ad space to artists for up to $500. How much of that is passed back to the artist? Again, I have nothing against Derek Webb the man. I have a HUGE beef with Derek Webb the business owner (or whoever owns Noisetrade now). Why not give that feature space to artists for free and then sell ad space to big companies with a marketing budget? Tell me how its fair that YOU pay them for ad space promoting your FREE product?! C’mon man.

Someone on Twitter asked me if I was trying to “pick a fight”. The answer is a resounding YES. For the past 100 years artists and songwriters have been getting robbed blind by people claiming to be on their side while lifting their wallet. Now artists are starving or leaving the business altogether. Without you, there is no music business. We NEED you to survive or we will miss out on the next Jeff Buckley or Switchfoot, or John Mark McMillan.

Im rooting for you.

About the Author:

Sam Fisher, Jr., a second-generation musician, has been making music since the mid-1990s including a stint as the frontman of independent powerhouse, Weekend Excursion, who over the course of nine years sold over 30,000 units while touring all over the world.

After the band disbanded, Sam released his critically acclaimed solo effort, People Living in 2006 on SBMG Records. In the years since, Sam has collaborated on several side projects (Caruso – contemporary blues, Mercury Blue – R&B and The Bristol Project – Trip Hop).

On September 21, 2010 Sam released his solo follow up: From Age to Age (cd) (mp3).

Sam is a voting member of the Recording Academy and staunch advocate for independent music, and he currently serves as worship leader and music director for Summit Church‘s North Durham Campus.