At one point in time, your goal as a musician was to sell your album. Just getting your CD into somebody’s hands was enough.
The new goal is to be heard. And strangely enough, getting your music into somebody’s hands doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll ever hear it.
Collector’s Lust
People don’t necessarily buy or download music so that they can listen to it. They buy it-or download it for free-because they crave possession of the music. Just acquiring a piece of music feels good.
Many music hoarders have much, much more music than they’ll ever listen to. In short: they love music, yes, but they also love being librarians. They love collecting, organizing, and storing music. Mostly, they might be doing this through their smartphones which are more accessible for them to listen to music at all times. To learn what else you can do with your phone, here are some ways, if interested.
The Information Age listener has a taller stack of music and a shorter attention span than ever before. They’re always moving on to something new, always downloading something else.
Your Song Vs. the Entire World
The scary fact is that you can give a perfectly good album away and still never get heard.
Now that we listen to music on computers and on iPods that can check e-mail, play games, surf websites, etc., you’re competing with all of those glittering distractions. You’re competing with those games. You’re competing with your listener’s flirty online dating exchange with some strong-jawed fellow over in London. Good luck-his accent drives her crazy.
My point is this: even if someone’s listening to your music somewhere in the world right now, she’s probably half-distracted.
So with all of these obstacles, one has to wonder: is there any hope of really reaching people with your songs?
Yes, You Can Still be Heard
Competition is high, but all is not lost. I realize this all seems daunting, but I’m not trying to discourage you-I’m trying to inspire you to work hard on your art.
If you can cut through all that noise, we listeners will love you. We’ll tell our friends how amazing your songs are. We’ll spread word of mouth even while you sleep. Cute fans will tattoo your lyrics and your signature onto their bodies. All of this-and more-is still possible.
And that’s amazing when you consider that there’s more music out there than any one of us can hope to ever hear in our lifetimes. So how do you earn the privilege of being heard by today’s besieged listener, who’s bombarded with hundreds of other choices at any given moment?
Well, there can be various methods that you can adopt; for instance, promote your music online by doing live online concerts, launch music on streaming platforms, and promote them on social media. You can also do club events, perform in local bars, etc. The options are endless. All you need to do is look for them.
That said, to help handle your gigs or events better, you could consider using artist management software such as Mike (mikeapp.co). Such applications also allow you to track your progress and expenditures while making music so that you can have a successful career as a musician.
I propose a few ideas that could help promote your music; some old, some new.
- You can embed visually stunning cover art into your MP3 album; that might help you attract some attention when your listeners are browsing the iTunes store or their music library.
- If you want someone from another country to listen to your music but it isn’t available for download in their country, you may possibly propose some of the Best torrenting sites for them to download and listen to your music.
- You can pack all your equipment into a van and tour the country, hoping to sell merchandise, CDs, and downloads.
- You can get your music featured on a popular TV show or in a film, where it’ll gain massive exposure.
- By exploring high-speed San Francisco internet plans (or wherever you are situated) and opting for one, you can promote yourself all over the Internet and stay connected to fans via an e-mail newsletter. You can do online concerts on websites like YouTube, Twitch, Daytrotter, etc., to increase your popularity.
- You can work to discover and harness your own unique strengths, pushing your own boundaries until you’re the best possible writer, composer, and performer you can be.
That last list item is what The Halted Clock is all about. Stay tuned this weekend as I explore the art of writing songs that attract and captivate even the most distracted listener.