So I'm an indie musician and a pretty good one at that. I started playing bass professionally in college with indie groups, doing recording sessions, cover bands and jazz gigs; but grew tired of playing behind people so I began the tedious process of identifying my own sound as a songwriter and vocalist.
Harder than I thought it would be.
You see, I had always second-guessed the indie artists that I was playing behind thinking that I could do much better. Many had a very low musical IQ has far as instrumentation was concerned and I de-valued the art of writing quality lyrics, having an identifiable vocal style and being able to pull that off both live and in recording sessions.
My recorded stuff isn't perfect, but it's come a long way and I'm a much humbler man having experienced the growth I needed to go through as a musician. But I'm glad that it took me this long to identify my sound and playing style: because the music industry is in the middle of a paradigm shift.
A paradigm shift being a massive change sort of like what we are experiencing in our economy. But unfortunately the music industry has been going through this for the past decade.
When things are broken to begin with and the powers that be (the Major Labels) have such a strangle hold on the market it is going to take a long time to deconstruct.
Especially if the top indie bands continue to be stupid.
This is the most empowering awesome time to be a musician in the history of the world! I say this confidently because I make my living as a cross between a music artist and an internet marketer. Life is good.
I am living proof that there is more money to be made through building a loyal following and giving good quality, innovative music targeting every country in the world. People love good music...they also appreciate it being free.
Even the obscure underground indie bands have the ability to influence an audience in ways that most marketers only dream of having. There is life beyond CD sales or digital downloads; look at the deal just signed by MySpace and the Major Labels:
I know for a fact that the money generated by the ads surrounding an indie band's MySpace page generates more income than the revenue the artist makes from their downloads. The Labels know this as well and have a revenue-sharing deal worked out with MySpace and unfortunately the indie artists don't get a cut.
It's like our deliverer or Moses has come in the internet but musicians are so conditioned to being slaves that they prefer to be miserable in Egypt. If you know the Bible, it took the Lord killing off many of these Israelites in the wilderness before the younger generation was able to enter the Promised Land. I fear this is what's happening... some of the best indie groups are either thriving or going away unable to sustain themselves monetarily.
Time to discover life beyond MySpace or any other portal for that matter and take marketing on the web into your own hands indie bands or find yourself back under the complete control of the Major Label Pharaohs or worse yet...dead in the wilderness.
So I endorse what I am living and many are calling the New Music Model. It's simple actually, I give away free music and grow my following and represent only quality advertising partners to my listening audience that I have built up trust and rapport with. Many of my listeners are willing to take my advice and recommendations on products and services these advertisers provide if they are relevant to music and what I represent.
Oh yeah, instead of gigging endlessly for the past (5) years I've spent it behind a computer learning the internet and all of the marketing strategies to have my music heard worldwide. So it's come at a price, but I am grateful that I decided to invest in this direction.
Hopefully I can influence some of my peers to do the same before it's too late.
Brandon Douglas is an indie music artist that makes a full-time living using the internet to publish his music to all major countries in the world.
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