Success and a Digital Landscape

Jason Feinberg of Music Business Blog has a great post at PBS’ MediaShift suggesting five tips on how to leverage technology (and the alleged declining value of the separation of artists and fans) in order for an artist to more effectively engage his fans in the digital space. Wherever you are on your artistic trajectory, I suggest you take a look at the article and think about what it means for you, if anything.

Like anything, the opportunities resulting from advancements in technology are only as valuable as the effectiveness in which we use the technology. Moreover, effectiveness is inextricably linked to what we hope to achieve. That is, goals and objectives drive the decisions we make, the way we allocate resources (time, money, energy, etc.) and how we measure success. Granted, especially as artists, those goals and objectives, will change along the way. (Shoot, mine have changed four times already this morning.) Still, what we hope to accomplish at the end of the day should determine the direction we decide to head in, the tools we use along the way and the way we measure our progress. (Keep in mind that goals will not determine our direction; we determine our direction and our direction will determine our destination.)

I used to think there were two fundamental (and not necessarily mutually exclusive) expressions of success for the musician. One, become famous. The other, make a living with music. Traditionally, those two avenues have translated to two directions. That is, to become famous, an artist pretty much needed a major label. To make a living (and often a better living than one could as a label artist), an artist could create a local or regional fan base, record and manufacture CDs, do live shows, sell merchandise and promote accordingly. I now realize that for many artists the way they define success involves neither of the foregoing objectives. In fact, they’re happy with playing music on the back porch with the rest of the family. Or they’re cool teaching part-time. Or maybe it’s jamming with friends in the evenings at the local pub and carrying mail by day. Nonetheless, I think it’s true that for many of us, seeing our artistic expressions reflected in the faces (and perhaps, wallets) of others is important and a fundamental piece of whatever it means to be successful.

You all are songwriters, film scorers, performers, producers, jingle-writers, publishers, arrangers and engineers. Has the internet changed your trajectory as an artist? Do new business models and digital venues for artistic expression give you new hope? Does it change your music? Where you once thought your future was in the hands of a label, if one would just pick you up, do you see new new independent opportunities? Have you experienced a label’s response to the paradigm shift by getting into a bad 360 deal? Are you tired of that embarrassing scratching while you wait in line at In-N-Out Burger? Hope to hear from you soon.

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