360° Digital Artist

Chris Cox on his website, Make Your Band Famous, has a video that talks about The "New Way" Business Model. This is a summary of the video, highlighting important points that Chris makes.

Traditionally in the music industry, the person that sold the most music and was discovered by a major label, was the one considered successful. Chris claims that the playing field has changed and that artists don't need people buying their music anymore.

He says that the number one obstacle to music marketing today is "trying to make money in the past." In the past, artists were able to make a living off of music. Consumers today want to buy into a lifestyle. There is now great opportunity through Internet and social media to market and sell a product.

He explains why music is no longer that product. For an artist selling 99 cent singles online, to make a $20,000 a year living, they would need 20,000 in the sale of singles (assuming they received 100% of the sale). To reach 20,000 in sales would require a minimum of 100,000 fans. To build that fan base would require a reach of 1,000,000 potential fans. That is just for a solo artist. A band would need to multiply those numbers by three or four.

Before explaining the product to sell, he describes the methods to sell it. He states that the best marketing is fan-based marketing. Build relationships with fans and let them do the marketing for the artist. He says, "music is almost always spread from friend to friend."

He reiterates that artists should stop trying to sell music. "Music is good for many things, but making money isn't one of them" He goes on to state, "Music is the medium we use to get people to know and love you."

He believes that the product is not the music, but the artist. He says, "You can make so much more money 'leveraging your celebrity' with your fanbase." He goes on to describe the four areas that people buy into for an artist:

1. Lifestyle
2. Values
3. Celebrity
4. Story

He says that these four areas are "conveyed and spread through your music." He encourages artists to "stand for something" and "adopt a niche." Anything can be sold if the person selling has credibility. People may not love the music, but will love what the artist stands for, buying and becoming fans.

He suggests that artists develop a membership program with VIP perks such as backstage passes and becoming a part of the artist's life. This can be used to create a monthly revenue. He encourages artists to offer something of value based on a cause they connect with, having the goal to leverage their "celebrity" to obtain a $1 per month per follower.

Everyone has something that they are passionate about. More than likely there are others who hold that same passion. He said an artist's passion can be their niche, opening the doors for product and marketing.