Musicans: Treat 'Em Right... And Build a Career

Making it in the music business today is extremely hard and the only to make it is by having fans. Here's some good advice to make and maintain fans from the people at Music Clout:

Recognize and Reward LoyaltyLike we talked about in the last post, superfans give more to your project but expect more in return. These fans want to be recognized as an invaluable member of your community. 

Give your most passionate supporters the attention they deserve. Their loyalty has helped you create a sustainable career so hail their level of support as the benchmark. Recognizing the value of the individual fan reinforces the bond with your top-fans and encourages “fringe-fans” to increase their support and join the party. 

Recognition can be as simple as interacting with fans in your on-going dialogue and as sophisticated as:

• Featuring the most engaged fans from your audience in your blog or social media
• Empowering your top-fans to be ambassadors in your band’s marketing campaign
• Rewarding superfans with exclusive access, content and experiences via loyalty apps

Freebies don’t hurt – after all superfans are prepared to spend up to $422 every year on their favorite musicians, so show those fans your love with some free schwag. 

Encourage Co-Creation Incentives are the tangible manifestation of a fan’s support. Superfans take pride in supporting your band and the rewards you offer are tokens that represent their love for your band. 

Some musicians are going a step further and including their top fans in the creative process. Artists like the Kaiser Chiefs gave their fans the opportunity to create and sell their own album using the band’s recorded material. 

Other artists, like Umphrey’s McGee have invited fans to take an active role in the development of their band, encouraging them to do everything from promoting albums to curating setlists for live shows. 

Focus on building lifelong relationships with existing fans.Superfans love your music. This passion is active, enduring and focused. In this content series we have explored how to capture that passion and nurture it into a lifelong relationship, one that sustains your career as a musician.It is better to have earned the support of 300 undeniably passionate fans who will buy everything you put out than 10,000 fringe fans who have a fleeting interest in you.

If all else fails, remember Chubb Rock's advice: