Leading to the Water

If I sold a record for every time someone said “it’s so easy to get your music out there nowadays…” I would have outsold Adele this week.  The “nowadays” that some are referring to is the present time in which we are most blessed to reside in.  This time is The Digital Age.

In the entertainment industry, The Digital Age of Entertainment has been both a blessing and a curse to individual artists and entertainment companies alike.  At its advent, the digitalizing of film, music, and even print looked promising.  The landscape changed overnight.  Abhigit Sen, speaking about music wrote “The convergence of music production, creation, distribution, exhibition and presentation enabled by the digital communications technology has swept through and shaken the music industry as never before.” (Sen, 2010)  So broad was the change, at times it seemed to be a benefit more on the side of the consumers rather than the producers.  It is this sweeping change that has altered, not just the face or look of the entire entertainment complex, but how the industry operates day-to-day.

However, as easy as it is to take a project from the drawing board to the market, it really still is not enough.  I don’t even want to speculate how many millions of records that artist have uploaded digitally to one website or another.  The majority of these artists are must be hobbyist.  I say this because; no matter if the content is good or bad, these “so-called artists” are going at it with, mostly, no MARKETING.

Marketing in the digital age is just as “easy” as “getting your content” out.  It amazes, or insert confuses, me to see individuals completely ignore one of the most important steps.

But, thinking back, I can understand.  I believe that sometimes the lack of marketing prowess is the sum of a lack of real knowledge.  Sure, everyone talks about the obvious outlets such as Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube.  But, these sites are only a very small part of the digital equation.  It takes more.  It takes research.  It takes hiring a professional.  If one can afford a professional, this is agreat site that offers pretty good tips. 

It is just not enough put the content out; you have to find a way to make sure your content is heard, seen, or read.  It’s simple, MARKET YOURSELF.

References

Sen, A. (2010). Music in the Digital Age: Musicians and Fans Around the World "Come Together" on the Net. Global Media Journal: American Edition, 9(16), 1-25.

101 Resources for Marketing Music. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2015, from http://www.unsignedbandpromotion.com/resources-marketing-music/index.html#.Vl5LcdZZXK4