In the age of cheap technology and the internet, most musicians are doing everything themselves. The self-starting DIY attitude is definitely something to applaud, but there are problems that come with it.
Firstly, has there ever been a time when musicians and artists have had to be so focused on the business side of things? Secondly, now that every band has professionally manufactured CDs and digital downloads to sell, how do you differentiate yourself?
Operating as we do in a very niche genre (post rock), hardly anyone in our scene has a hope of ‘making it big’, and we believe that spurs real creativity that could teach those in less niche genres a few lessons about separating art and commerce, or at least cultivating the appearance of separation.
Make art first, then monetize
It’s very difficult to stay creative when you’re filling your head with business. If you’re endlessly rerunning your target market and how much they’d realistically pay for a CD or 7” you might be tempted to tailor your music for the broadest possible base – you see where this is going.
Time is a great divider, it allows one person to be many contradictory things. You stand the best chance of succeeding in commerce if your product is amazing. That means amazing songs. That means not thinking about business while you’re writing them.
Make your CD stand out
It’s easy now to make professionally produced CDs (both sonically and presentationally) but CDs are very utilitarian. Do whatever you can to give them an individual edge. We’ve seen bands package CDs in old novels by cutting away parts of the pages. We’ve seen individually hand drawn covers. We’ve seen CDs sold with handmade doilies and origami turtles.
These ideas (and many more) make the packaging more than just packaging. They make it part of the album, beyond just a functional jewel case. They turn it into something to treasure as an object.
You know all those wacky ideas you had about packaging but sounded too expensive? Do them anyway. Even if you can only feasibly do about 20 (like the band with the books) then that’s 20 ‘premium’ products you can sell.
Stay romantic
This is probably the most important thing, and what we try and do as much as we can ourselves.
People like to buy into art, support music, however you want to put it. What they don’t like is being sold to, or being encouraged to view music as a commodity like any other. Hide the commerce from your fans as much as you can and you’ll maintain the romance of art far more.
When we run our annual post rock festival in Brighton, UK, we keep it free entry but take a donation bucket round and sell shots to pay for the bands. The reception we get is phenomenal and it’s because rather than sticking to textbook scarcity economics (withholding entry pending payment) the fans feel like they’re supporting art.
Back in the day when any artist selling recordings was on a record label, the musicians could legitimately claim to not take an interest in the business and stay true to the music. They could defer blame for the commoditisation of their art to the record company.
That’s not true any more. Every musician is at least as concerned with their business as they are with their music. But it’s important to maintain the illusion.
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Nick Lewis works for post rock record label and promotions company Nice Weather for Airstrikes, promoting post rock bands in south east England and beyond. The label hosts an annual free entry festival in Brighton, UK, now in its 4th year, as part of the Brighton Fringe Festival. Find out more at http://niceweatherforairstrikes.co.uk
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