I had the opportunity to develop a friendship with James Moore of Independent Music Promotions while I was blogging with TuneCity in 2012/2013.
He wrote a guest post for us, and I wrote a guest post for his blog. Subsequently, I’ve also sought advice from him about my long-overdue eBook (which will maybe be out by the time this post goes live!).
James is always insightful and has a great perspective on where the music industry stands today.
I recently had the chance to ask him a few questions, and he was gracious enough to take some time out of his day to answer them. Read on.
1. What is Independent Music Promotions? Who is it for, and what can we learn by visiting and reading your blog?
Independent Music Promotions is, first and foremost, a music PR company serving “music with depth” worldwide. Our job is to generate high amounts of press for every one of our artists. This press comes in the form of CD reviews, interviews, feature articles and blog posts in prominent music blogs and magazines.
We also run a popular blog at www.independentmusicpromotions.com that serves two purposes. It introduces artists to our company, and it also serves as an artist resource. We post tons of educational articles aimed to help artists learn to promote themselves effectively.
2. What would you say is the biggest challenge in the music industry right now?
Obscurity. That’s nothing new though. Artists shouldn’t see it as a bad thing. Obscurity is actually the biggest challenge in EVERY industry, so be fearless and advertise. If you complain about it, you’re a sinking stone.
3. What do you think musicians need the most help with?
Perspective is without a doubt the thing artists need the most help with. Artists who constantly learn, are humble, have a love for the art first, and keep a positive attitude tend to find more and more success. Artists who get stuck in some false idea of “how things were” or how they should be tend to stay stuck. Once artists learn that there’s no one to turn to but themselves, they get a new energy and more opportunities open up. You can’t advertise if you’re against advertising, for example. You can’t reach the public if you feel entitled, or that you deserve to “be found”. Work hard and love your art, first and foremost. Then you’ll never experience disappointment.
Perspective is without a doubt the thing artists need the most help with. Artists who constantly learn, are humble, have a love for the art first, and keep a positive attitude tend to find more and more success.
4. Have you observed any up-and-coming trends in the music industry? If so, what are they?
The way people are consuming their music is constantly shifting, but the underlying need for music remains the same. Artists should remember that music listeners can tend to be very limited in the way they listen. For example, some people only check out new music through their chosen streaming network, so if you opted out of all those networks because you don’t like the royalties, you’ve disconnected yourself from a ton of new potential listeners.
I tend to think that artists should place themselves everywhere where music listeners are. It’s an ecosystem and it’s not all about revenue right now. Revenue can come later, but popularity is a far more potent currency.
I tend to think that artists should place themselves everywhere where music listeners are. It’s an ecosystem and it’s not all about revenue right now. Revenue can come later, but popularity is a far more potent currency.
5. What is something every independent musician needs to know, especially if they are just getting started?
Start off with music you’re extremely proud of, and then show it the proper respect by not skimping on production, artwork, and promo photos. Once you have all those elements complete, show all that effort the proper respect by investing in yourselves. No one else is going to take the leap for you. Don’t over-analyze or you’ll stay in one place. Use hyper-targeted advertising through venues like Facebook and Twitter in order to build an organic following. Popularity is MUCH more important than money in the beginning stages because no one is going to pay you until you have some popularity behind you. You’ll need to work hard and invest to build this popularity.
If you can get your mind around these things without any cynicism creeping in, you’re already miles ahead of most. Probably most importantly, don’t listen to any devil’s advocates! People love to chime in about things they know nothing about. Don’t allow them to taint your natural drive and love for what you do.
Final Thoughts
Wow! I think James is spot-on with his thoughts on what artists need to know and the mindset they need to adopt in order to be successful in today’s music industry.
In some ways, it’s exactly what I’ve been saying all along, but I think he put it so much more eloquently than I ever could.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure to say “thank you” to James on Twitter. Also, don’t forget to mention that I (@Dawmusic) sent you.
What do you think? Is there anything artists are missing? What is your biggest challenge in music right now?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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