Are You Building A Band Or A Business?
This guest post comes from Jason Spitz, a marketing & ecommerce expert with a serious music obsession. Follow him on Twitter at @jasonspitz.
If you want to make music, start a band. If you want to make money, start a business. It's that simple. Bands and businesses are two different entities with different objectives.
If your goal is to play music, by all means, go ahead. But if you want to earn a living from your music, you should view that goal as a separate enterprise — one that takes careful planning and hard work. Any band can screenprint some t-shirts, set up a Bandcamp page, and start making a little money. That's alone is not a business– it's the equivalent of a lemonade stand. Think like an entrepreneur, and look to other independent artists for inspiration.
So, what's the key to building a business with a band at its center? The audience. These people are the most valuable asset to both your band and your business. Fans who like your music will become customers who buy your products. And the nature of this relationship actually gives you a huge advantage over other businesses. Think about this: most companies that sell stuff must first convince people to buy their product, and then hope that if they like it, they'll keep buying more. But fans of your music alreadylike you, which makes it easier to convince them to buy your stuff — and far more likely that they'll remain loyal customers.
The challenge is figuring out what products your audience wants to buy. Here's where the band/business gap comes in. Your band makes music, but people won't purchase music itself (or at best, they won't spend very much money on it). So your business needs to offer things that fans value. Things like limited-edition packaging, hand-made artwork, and autographed posters. Or better yet, unique items & experiences like private concerts, personalized songs, or video chats with the band. The past five years of direct-to-fan campaigns have proven that if you offer value, people will pay money, some will pay lots, and many will pay repeatedly. It takes some trial & error, a bit of creativity, and a lot of smart work & patience. But just like any other entrepreneurial venture, slow steady growth and a top-quality product are the keys to success.
Your business drives the growth. Your band generates the quality product. If you can do both, you win.
Yeesh, get a proofreader.
Thank you for this post, Jason. It’s definitely been echoing what I’ve been studying about Internet Businesses and how it can relate to bands.
From my research, a band (or business) needs a product that is at least $50, and an audience willing to buy it. For bands, this product can be one or all of the following: limited edition items, membership sites, and/or super-high-priced tickets (like Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds).
Great post! I look forward to hearing more!
i was just telling someone that earlier. If you cant reach an audience without giving away content, you should at least draw them closer with exclusive content. -Norman Cameron
Good article. I agree the fans / audience is the most important asset for a band. In business the most important thing is cashflow. For a band to make it over time it will need money as well.
So I differ a little with your opening statement “If you want to make music, start a band. If you want to make money, start a business. It’s that simple. Bands and businesses are two different entities with different objectives.”
If you want to make music as a lifelong career you’d be well served making your band a business. Read my article in Music Think Tank here: http://tinyurl.com/6dgu4bh for more on this topic. – Don Austin
Hi Don,
Thanks for your comments. You’re right, cash flow and capitalization are crucial. I wonder if band-centric bands will ever be as successful at raising investment capital as other more traditional businesses.
However, your disagreement with the premise of my article kind of misses the point. You can’t just “make your band a business”. By their very nature, the two organizations of “band” and “business” serve different purposes. Here’s how I delineate them:
– The band should be focused on creating great music, evolving creatively, and relating to the fan base. Money shouldn’t factor into the band’s core output, otherwise it detracts from the quality.
– The business should be focused on converting fans to customers, creating & selling quality products from the music that the band produces, and charting a strategic course to profitability.
Jason –
Thanks for your clarification. I totally agree with you.
As for capitalization, there are all sizes and shapes out there, including us, I’d say the biggest and most known probably is Polyphonic. To read about them see this article about radioheads manager: http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/content_display/industry/news/e3i7d9dbfa38e84e3bbbe454efde0a5f878
It seems to me the best change in music industry is the movement from labels to management companies where the artist is always in the driver seat and their art is never compromised.
Great distinction! Totally agree
Picking the business method kind of makes it all seem a bit cold and disconnected. Doesn’t picking the business route remove some of the art and beauty from what your creating?
I like the statement very much that If you want to make music, start a band and If you want to make money, start a business..Both the thing are different..And By their very nature, the two organizations of “band” and “business” serve different purposes