Don’t even think about becoming an artist without reading this article.
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Kevin Kelly has published the most up to date and articulate expression of the economics behind the new music industry I can find anywhere.
In his post titled ‘1000 True Fans’, Kelly puts the power of social networking into dollar terms for your band.
A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can’t wait till you issue your next work. They are true fans.
Here’s where the dollars come in:
Assume conservatively that your True Fans will each spend one day’s wages per year in support of what you do. That “one-day-wage” is an average, because of course your truest fans will spend a lot more than that. Let’s peg that per diem each True Fan spends at $100 per year. If you have 1,000 fans that sums up to $100,000 per year, which minus some modest expenses, is a living for most folks.
Obviously, you can plug in the numbers you feel are most in line with the goals of you and your band mates, but the concept is sound.
Read Kevin Kelly’s entire article here. It’s long, but no matter how much you read you’ll walk away with a completely new perspective on what you’re doing right and wrong about your music career. If you’re really interested in learning how to achieve sustainable success in this business, you’ll read the whole thing - 1000 times.
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