Musicians Stop Using Old School Marketing in a New World.

In his book "Marketing 2.0: Bridging the Gap between Seller and Buyer through Social Media Marketing", Bernie Borges contends that we are at a huge shift in the way we market.  The age old practice of disruption (television commercials, direct mail, cold calling) in which the marketer tries to disrupt the potential customer from what they are doing is being replaced by the ideal of customer engagement. A practice based heavily on the web, and especially social media.

The funny thing is the recording industry and most artists in particular are moving in the opposite direction.

Let me explain what I mean.  Before the recording industry's digital crash, most bands made their namesake by engaging potential consumers of their brand with their music. They got you to go to their concerts, seek them out on the radio, visit the local record shop in search of "their" media, and got you to where their T-shirt like a flag. In essence they were following the marketing concept of customer engagement, and were quite successful in the practice.

Then the change agent of digital technology was introduced. Suddenly anyone could get your music anywhere (for free), but more importantly anyone can record an album with little investment. The question then becomes "how can I market my material with little to no money?". Most take to social media, where it doesn't cost a penny to potentially reach millions. But the majority approach the new medium in a marketing 1.0 mentality. They try to interrupt you. 

Think about it for a second. How many of you get bombarded with artists and bands on Twitter, FaceBook, Linkedin, Tumblr, Instagram, begging us to go check out their page, buy their album, or go to a show?  Most of the time they do this "right out of the gate", they don't even attempt to get to know you, engage you, socialize with you. They just attempt to "interrupt" you and hope you will follow them.

I see this a lot, primarily because I work in the music business. Every day dozens of musicians send me their links, email, and try to connect with me on all of my marketing channels. Now I don't mind, as it is part of my job to find new talent, but the marketer in me is awestruck at how old school many of them are thinking. For example I will get an email from someone through LinkedIn promoting their band who hasn't even viewed my profile. They aren't trying to connect with me, find out what I could and couldn't offer them. Instead they are just trying to disrupt me in hopes that I will give them an opportunity.

Musicians today must realize that we live in a world dominated by a social atmosphere.  You need to adjust your mindset from "what can you do for me" to "what can I do for you" or better yet "what can we do together". In the 60's and 70's music proliferated because of this ideal. The thought of "what can we do together" helped musicians and their fans change the world. And in some way this helped launch the legacy careers of artists that are still touring and recording to this day.