I am currently involved with two music acts, The Ted Williams Show, a whimsical rock band with blues elements and a heavy debt to Lennon-McCartney, and Miguel Torres, an acoustic guitar, folksy, Spanish, bohemian solo artist. Neither is very mainstream, although creative and talented, with great material. Interestingly, both are producing albums, both with “amateur technology” and on Macs.
How can small music acts succeed in a world where the major music labels and the RIAA are dying out? The suggestion is a simple formula that both desperately need to understand:
Connect with fans + give them reasons to buy = financial success.
The tough part is finding out a way to do it. Piracy is not an issue; for instance iTunes successfully competes with free, by giving us reasons to buy. The labels, used to their monopoly, are kicking and screaming, and refusing to succeed any other way. Their doom is sealed unless they embrace change. This torrent freak article articulates the reasons for the music labels’ decline better than many I’ve read.
The Ted Williams Show are renting a 900-seat theater for a concert the first of August, our biggest gig yet. Miguel Torres is thinking of quitting his day job to concentrate on music. As self-appointed technology consultant for both, I’ll soon create websites for them, and will share some of their music with you.
As always, your opinions and suggestions are more than welcome.
Image by Nine Inch Nails, used with a Creative Commons license
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