Online Music Marketing Strategy for Unsigned Act

by Alice Fairhurst

Evolution of the Music Industry

The music industry has undergone change overs the years moving away from hardcopy formats such as cassettes, CD’s and vinyl to digital formats (downloads, streaming and the use of social media). This is known as the “digital revolution” (Rogers, 2013: 4).

The emergence of the digital era was due to the launch of Napster in June 1999, an unauthorised, online peer-to-peer file sharing site founded by Shawn Fanning. The site enabled users to share and digitally download their music via MP3 format without the permission of the artists who owned the songs meaning Fanning was culpable of copyright infringement. An increase in digital downloads meant a decrease in sales of physical copies. These “file-sharing activities [were] having a detrimental effect on recorded music sales” (Rogers, 2013: 156) and were “terminally wounding the record industry” (Rogers, 2013: 195). 

The industry initially aimed to sue anyone taking part in these illegal sites, however, once this change was accepted, it was essential they moved with the times. Apple launched iTunes in 2003 (the first legal music service) alongside the iPod; this was the brands USP (Unique Selling Point) distinguishing them from other music download sites. Consumers place more value on tangible objects and will buy them.

Ways To Distribute & Promote Your Own Music

Social Media Sites: Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, FaceBook, SnapChat, TikTok

This enables artists to communicate their daily lives with their audience making them more relatable and accessible.

Music Platforms: Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, iTunes, SoundCloud (premium/ subscriptions available) 

In 2018, “streaming revenue grew by 34% and accounted for almost half (47%) of global revenue. That was driven by a 32.9% increase in paid subscription streaming with a combined £5.4 billion being collected. The IFPI states that 255 million people now pay for music streaming services with over 100 million of those people Spotify customers” (Whitby 2019).

Other: Support other artists at gigs, contact online/ physical music magazines such as Bido Lito, Get into This, contact radio- BBC Introducing helps to promote upcoming musicians

According to Ross Graham, radio has “maintained itself in the contemporary music world” (Rogers, 2013: 157).

The Importance of Radio

Willie Kavanagh states that “radio is … absolutely crucial in breaking any new artist or selling any established one” (Rogers, 2013:159). In a personal interview Ben Barrett announced that radio “helps you cross over to an audience that might not as individuals buy a whole lot of records, and it’s access to a big new market” (Rogers, 2019: 164-165); it can aid an unsigned act in reaching a wider audience than they would initially have access to. 

Major Labels

The music industry has been dominated by the major companies changing from the “Big 6”…

  • Universal music Group 
  • Warner Music Group 
  • BMG Music
  • Capitol- EMI
  • Polygram
  • CBS (now known as Sony)

To the “Big 3” which account for “greater than 80% of all sales” (Resnikoff, 2016).

  • Universal music Group
  • Sony Music
  • Warner Music Group

Ross Graham stated that “the majors also have a stranglehold on media control for pushing their artists” (Rogers, 2013: 132), they are vital in emerging an unsigned act into the mainstream of the music industry. The “digital revolution” has eliminated the need for the middle man (gatekeepers, A&R, producers, promoters etc.) so there are more bedroom artists. However, without being on the radio or being signed to a major label, this is very difficult.

Public Relations (PR)

According to the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)  “Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics” (Wynne, 2016) often utilising media, social media and word of mouth. 

PR includes:

  • Telling a story
  • Talking to promotors, gig goers and music consumers
  • Nurture and elevate visual identity of artist
  • Take into account the length of times it takes to publish for magazines and newspapers 
  • Know your audience 

4 P’s of Marketing

Screenshot from Professional Academy

Promotion: Advertising, PR, ticket sales, merchandise primarily through the use of social media. Know the online habits of your fanbase. 

Product: This may be the music via physical copies or streaming sites, gig tickets, merchandise or the act themselves. Ensure to target your audience. Know your genre, personal style and visual identity. 

Price: “The Product should always be seen as representing good value for money” (Professional Academy). The cost of the acts music, tickets and merchandise should be relative to their level of success and should consider their fanbase, ie. an audience aged 45-50 can typically afford more than a teenage audience. 

Place: “The product should be available from where your target consumer finds it easiest to shop” (Professional Academy), this is now primarily through social media via the artists website. The venue for the performers should be representative of their music and audience. The place they promote their music should be on platforms that are most specific to their audience. 

How do bands/ artists make revenue

Recording: Marketing, publicity, pluggers, producers, record labels (business of investment- loans money to artist), A&R, distribution, streaming, media (TV, radio, social media), session musicians, cost decreased per unit (except for resurgence of vinyl).

“Performing royalties from radio- play feature as one of a number of core revenue streams” (Rogers, 2013: 162).

Live/ Merchandise: Labels, promoters, venues, artists, festival, staff, stage management, security, tour management, online ticketing, merchandise

“There is much money in live performance” (Rogers, 2013: 116).

Rights/ Copyright: Marketing, publishers, websites, % of money, lawyers, artist advocacy, PRS, advertising agencies, TV, film, Digital Rights Company 

Alice Phoebe Lou- A case study

Alice Phoebe Lou is a South African singer-songwriter with jazz, ambient and indie-rock influences. She initially started her career as a street musician and has now expanded her knowledge and fanbase which allows her to run her own business independently.

In terms of social media, Lou uses Instagram the most frequently, uploading photos or updates at least every few days. Her USP is the aura she presents whilst performing, during interviews and via social media. She utilises these platforms as an extension of her visual identity illustrating a genuine artist who loves her music, a feminist and free-spirit. Her authentic representation of herself appeals to her 87.7K followers. Lou uses the bio to link her most recent release. This is the first thing followers/ new followers will see and it will take them straight to her music!

Lou has 115K subscribers on her YouTube channel but has only uploaded 18 videos. With more frequent content, Lou would keep her audience interested on this platform and increase the number of subscribers. In the modern day, there is an opportunity for musicians to be immersed into the mainstream via their YouTube channel and generate sufficient revenue.

Another way Lou utilises her YouTube channel is by collaborating with other artists such as Maisie Williams or with music channels such as Mahogany Sessions enabling her to expand her audience further. Here are some examples of her creative collaborations…

Another opportunity that Lou has taken from her YouTube channel is to create a short documentary for her album “Paper Castles” which was premiered on 1st May 2020. In this documentary, she reveals a lot about her business and the way she works in order to be successful. She states that “touring would be a lot easier if I was on a label and I had a more… commercial setup and structure of the way that I run my business” (Alice Phoebe Lou, 2020) yet she enjoys the freedom of creativity. She also talks about the cycles of touring, promoting an album and songwriting… “This phase is about to come to an end and then I’m gonna be back in creation phase …where I worry less about social media and doing all my own… PR essentially” (Alice Phoebe Lou, 2020).

Her website again, compliments her aesthetic. Here, Lou leaves information about upcoming tours, sells merchandise all at a reasonable price for her fanbase as well as CD’s and vinyl. This is in keeping with the resurgence of vinyl. With “4.3m LPs sold” in 2019 (bpi, 2020), consumers seek a more tangible experience, sense of ownership and nostalgia.

Lou sells her own prints and merchandise herself after her gigs which is an opportunity for PR and getting to know her fans personally.

Image from an Instagram post

Lou has a sufficient 82,521 followers on Facebook. This mainly consists of repeated content from her Instagram page and shared videos from her YouTube channel creating a sense of familiarity amongst her platforms. A strength of this site is the option to share full length YouTube videos and live streams whereas Instagram only allows for shorter videos.

Her music is available on several sites including Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and Google Play allowing for more opportunities to sell her music. The sacrifice of generating little revenue from sites such as Spotify and SoundCloud is justifiable as it expands her audience, views and immersion into the music industry. Lou’s music is included in Spotify playlists; this form of gatekeeping directs new listeners to an artist but allows them a sense of self-discovery when they find her music creating a bigger fan-base who will in time buy her music or attend gigs. Lou now has 405, 134 monthly listens on Spotify.

Conclusion

To conclude, an unsigned band or artist should first gain experience in their genre, instrument and performance by gigging or busking as well as creating a sense of who they are as an act. This could be a visual identity or USP. The act must also create a fanbase utilising PR either through social media platforms or via word of mouth. All social media should accurately represent the act and their music and be a point of contact between themselves and their fans.

All the act’s music, gig tickets and merchandise should be available to download, stream or buy and should be promoted utilising the 4P’s of marketing via their social media platforms. Once the act has an adequate fanbase, they may be signed to a label and acquire radio play which are both essential for maximum exposure in the music industry.

Bibliography

Playing Live Blog

The Module

Throughout this module, I have learned how to work and perform in groups and as a solo artist as well as how to setup equipment and use the sound desk to a certain extent. During the first semester of this year, we worked in groups to practice for a group performance, we then worked in duets to build our confidence before we began performing as solo artists. 

We also worked a lot on the health and safety aspects of setting up sound equipment which includes knowing that wires should be around the sides of the room and often taped down leading to the sound desk to avoid performers or technicians falling over them as well as knowing to coil excess wire so no one trips over them. It is also important that all the equipment is set up correctly to avoid anything falling on top of the performers or technicians etc. Another thing is to ensure that all levels should be turned down when the speakers are turned on or off to avoid putting anyone in danger of losing their hearing to the sudden loud noise they can make. 

2/4/2019- ‘Fags N’ Booze’  

Performance in the studio

For this performance, I first of all introduced myself and my song which is called ‘Fags N’ Booze’ which follows a simple verse chorus structure. Overall, this performance was decent but could have been improved in terms of preparation. My vocals were relatively weak especially when they cracked a few times on the higher notes, but with more vocal warmups before the performance, I would have been more accurate in terms of vocal pitch and power. 

I accompanied my vocals with electroacoustic guitar which was plugged into the DI box. I feel I played the guitar quite well maintaining a steady tempo throughout, however, with more practice in my spare time, the guitar playing would have been cleaner and more tight without any little mistakes. The audience consisted of a few class mates, the technician and the lecturer; I was comfortable around these people so performed confidently. I was also comfortable with playing the song as it was an original piece meaning I’d had plenty of practice. To improve my performance in the future, I will attempt to engage with my audience more rather than singing to myself, this will also help my performance in terms of projection. 

The equipment I used includes speakers, monitors, electro-acoustic guitar, jack-lead, SM58 microphone, microphone stand, guitar stool, XLR cables and DI box which were all set up and connected to the sound desk. We had a quick sound check to see if the levels were right. Watching over my performance, I feel a little echo and reverb would have improved the overall sound. 

4/5/19- ‘Baby’ 

Live performance at The Old Courts, Wigan

I performed this song at The Old Courts in Wigan for a gig. Overall, the performance went well. The video itself was a bad recording due to the surrounding background noise as it was recorded in a public place where people talked over the music that was being performed. In terms of effects, the technician added a bit of reverb and echo on the vocals which definitely improved the sound and quality of my vocals overall. 

In terms of health and safety, the fire exits were clearly labelled and lit up green around the room and rest of the building so I performed in a safe environment. The jack-lead and XLR cables were all also neatly kept on stage to avoid any fallings over. 

I could’ve improved this performance again by being more organised and having a lot more practice so I felt more confident performing it to an audience. I should have warmed my vocal cords more thoroughly to enable a better sound. 

7/5/19- ‘Golden Hour’

Produced in Edge Hill University’s Broadcast TV Studio

I performed ‘Golden Hour’ in the TV Broadcast Studio at university. We each had a slot booked so we could film our own original songs. The equipment and overall outcome was very professional with high quality sound recording and high definition film footage. There were around four or five cameras which were on wheels meaning they could be moved around the front half and sides of the studio to capture different angles through the lense. Here, health and safety was important as it was dark and all bags within its reach would have to be moved incase the technicians manning the cameras fell over a bag in the dark.

To improve my performance, I needed to warm my vocals up more to improve my singing voice as I sang a few flat notes and the overall sound was weaker than usual. I also need to rehearse this song more considering it was the only time I’d performed it; I realised I needed to do a lot more practice to ensure my guitar playing was a lot tighter. I was also advised from someone from Sound City to have space within the song structure for more variation as the song was very repetitive with limited change as it followed a simple verse, chorus structure with a bridge but no breaks or alternating sections. 

Finally, the sound desk was in the other studio so it was important to communicate with the technicians as only they could hear when the people in the studio were ready to record.