Control, Distribution, and One Person
It occurs to me as I map out the release strategy for all the demos for January and the backlog of songs I haven’t gotten recorded that the world is a crazy place. Music distribution is super messed up and nobody really seems to have the answer, but I can do what I want. I’m fully in control, and the more work I put into it, the more the music gets out there. At no point in history has it ever been easier.
I can design a show, then easily video it, then have that up and show people exactly what they’re getting and get booked from there. There’s a lot wrong with the music industry, but there’s a lot right too. In the 90s and even in the 80s you had to explain to people what you were doing. Now you can show them. You can send them reels. You can send them SoundCloud links, and people will take a shot.
You can tailor it to any situation. So regardless of what’s going on in the news, or at the schools, or at work, or in Minnesota, or anything—if you’re an artist, and in my case an artist doing music, you can control the music you make and you can get it to literally anyone in the world.
My SoundCloud listens are like a United Nations, or one of those crazy James Bond meetings with people from countries you’ve never heard of. You can find the people that you should be reaching, and that’s where the computers actually help you.
There’s never been a better time. So if you need to be optimistic and you’re a musician, just be optimistic about this. Know that if you put in the work, you can get the results. It’ll be super slow going, kind of like this blog, but it’ll be worth it because you’ll pick up a couple fans here and there. They’ll let you know what they like, and they’ll let you know why they like it, and they listen a lot.
You don’t need many of these people in your life. In fact, I’d venture to say you don’t want them. You want a small group because they stay engaged, they stay happy, they’re super friendly, and just one person being glad that you’re releasing new music is a thrill.
Yesterday I was talking about diminishing returns, and this is true here too. After literally one, it goes downhill. Who cares. You reached somebody. That’s all that matters.