For decades the music industry has been dominated by the major record labels.
At times it has seemed that as music appreciators we were told what we like and what we were going to listen to.
And as musicians we were told what we were going to play and record.
Obviously that is not true as a blanket statement.
When the audience likes it, they like it.
Even the record executives wouldn't argue with that.
And on the same token if the artist or the song wasn't any good it wasn't any good.
There is just no way to get around these facts.
However, over the decades certain types of music were crammed down our throats.
In my opinion that contributed to a narrow genre selection of what has been considered popular music over the years.
We only got to hear what made it on to the radio, MTV, VH1 and so on.
In the past decade or even 15 years things began to change.
There have been some pioneers in the self-promotion movement and advancement of resources available to the independent musician to really develop a sustainable self propelled promotion model and enjoy success in their chosen field.
This, in turn has provided to the audience out there a luxury not since extended to them...
choices.
Below I have listed three specific benefits of self-promotion for the independent musician as I see it.
Creative Continuity When you set out to promote yourself you have a vision.
The marketing plan that you implement can be an extension of the identity that you've created through your live performances, recordings, conversations you've had with fans and the like.
There are many different marketing avenues to go down.
Major labels have in the past had a cookie cutter system that became a very effective vehicle to generate a lot of exposure.
The problem was that if a band or an artist wasn't becoming successful within that system they were dropped.
There was very little flexibility for trying creative marketing ideas in the record industry.
You got signed, you performed, got radio play and sold singles and then albums.
There were few variations from this model.
Now with self-promotion you can direct your efforts to conform to your niche fan base.
For example; if you are a solo folk act you might be able to find a lot of success in coffee shops and poetry readings.
In this instance you might do well to market to boutique book stores around the country.
This way you will be marketing directly to what you have already developed as your fan base through live performances.
There are a number of tools out there at your disposal.
Some of them are inexpensive and therefore worth trying.
Some of them are even free, like the social networking sites.
There are others that are paid services and are well worth the money.
The draw back here is that there are so many tools to weed through and it can be difficult to determine which are the most effective tools for what you are trying to accomplish.
Fan Base Connection In a self promotion model you can more successfully accomplish the ultimate goal of marketing, connecting with the people that are your fans and reaching new fans.
In the major label model you expose the product to the greatest number of people you can whether this audience is likely to enjoy the music you are marketing to them or not.
Now this is not a bad thing.
You want your music to be heard by the greatest number of people as possible.
The reason for this, of course, is that the more people that you expose to your music to, the more likely that you will find one person that would become a fan.
In a self-promotion model you are generally more limited in the size of your marketing audience due to financial resources and the like.
However, it is indeed possible to target your efforts so that the vast majority of the people you market to likely want to hear your music and your message.
This not only translates into sales of your product but more importantly a solid loyal fan base.
This is clearly the most important thing in any marketing plan.
Without the fans you don't have a business, you have a hobby (nothing wrong with your music being your hobby by-the-way, but we are talking about how to make this your business) Just the way a restaurant goes out of business without customers, even if the chef really loves to cook.
On another note, by talking directly to your fan base in your self-promotion model you are now able to really express your appreciation to your fans for giving you the opportunity to live the professional life you are living.
I can tell you definitively that your fans will like to feel specifically appreciated and will feel especially compelled to support you in the future.
Control When you are marketing and promoting yourself you are in complete control of the fate of your music career.
There are plenty of examples of artists being signed to a three record contract with a $250,000 advance only to have their music shelved by the record label and never released to the public.
This is not good.
While this recording may very well not be the highest quality music to be produced by this label, it is possibly the only music that the artist has.
Now they don't even have the right to go and try to record this material with another label or distribute it themselves.
There is still a chance that an audience (even a small one) is out there and eager to hear this lost-forever music.
With a self-promotion model you can attempt to distribute anything you create.
This does not mean that there is automatically a market for whatever you create but if there is one you at least have the opportunity to look for it.