Part 2: From Beats to Brands: A Marketer's Framework for Independent Musicians
How to Move From Strategy To Tactics
In the last issue of The Music Marketer, we discussed the need to avoid a very common marketing trap of just doing “stuff” for the sake of appearing busy and hoping something works.
Instead, I outlined the need to step back and put a clear plan in place to promote your work … before you start taking action.
An effective way to create such a plan is by using the MBA level marketing framework. We ran through how to apply it to the specific needs of self-promoting music artists.
For a full recap on the first two critical stages of Market Orientation and Marketing Strategy, check out Part 1 here.
Today, we’re going to begin diving into the third and final stage of Marketing Tactics.
I’d originally planned to nail the entire tactical talk in one article. However, there is so much to share. I’ve therefore decided it would benefit by being split across two further editions. This article now becomes part two of a three-part Trilogy! What a tease! I know.
Before we open the tactical box of toys though, there is one further, very important interim step. It links your diagnosis and strategic decisions to the subsequent tactical selections you’re about to make. I’m talking about Objective Setting.
Setting Objectives
These are the specific marketing goals or outcomes you want to achieve in a defined time period. Being clear on your objectives will provide focus for your activities and will allow you to review, measure and benchmark success.
Look to define your objectives using the SMART acronym;
Specific
Measurable
Ambitious
Realistic
Time Bound
An example marketing objective written to meet the SMART criteria would look like this:
Increase the number of Followers amongst my “Hardcore Gig Goer” audience segment, from 250 to 500, by 31st December 2025.
Research by Marketing Professor Mark Ritson of 5,645 Effie Marketing Awards entries indicated effectiveness scores peak at between two and four objectives. Aim to keep your annual number of marketing objectives below five at most.
Budgeting
With your objectives now set, you will need to determine an available marketing budget to deliver them.
As an independent music artist, self-funding, you are likely to have very real limits to your available resources of both money and time. I would therefore recommend completing the objective setting exercise in tandem with your budgetary considerations. Balance as you see fit and be realistic as to what you can comfortably achieve.
Time For Tactics
With your strategy, objectives and available budget now set, you can move on to the available tactical choices. There are four key tactical areas in marketing, commonly referred to as the “4 P’s”:
Product
Price
Promotion (or Marketing Communications)
Place (or Distribution Channels)
As with strategy, I’m not going to get deep into the academic theory of each tactical option. There is a wealth of information available out there should you be curious to find out more.
Instead I’ll show you some directional ideas and examples on how applying the best principles of the 4 P’s to your music marketing can help deliver increased success.
We’ll take a look at Product and Price in this issue, with Promotion and Place to follow in the final part of this (now) three-part newsletter series.
Product
What exactly do we mean by Product?
Phillip Kotler, often referred to as one of the Fathers of Modern Marketing, defined a product as;
Anything that can be offered to market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption. It includes physical objects, services, personalities, places, organisations and ideas.
The basic consumer need you are fulfilling with your music is one of entertainment. But that’s clearly a little dry! It’s not really how or what your “product” of music represents. It’s a passion point for you as the creator and it’s very often a passion point for your audience, the listeners, especially those hardcore fans.
As a musician, your product isn’t just your songs, it’s the whole kit and kaboodle. It’s the entire experience of who you are as an artist, made up of several interconnected areas:
Music: The genre or scene, emotional engagement, quality, lyrics and vibe are a central aspect of your product.
Visual Identity: Your image as an artist, photos, video content, artist branding and cover art are all strong supporting elements to your music. They can be just as, if not more powerful, in today’s age of visual media.
Story: Your personal background. How you’ve got to where you are as an artist. Your struggles and successes. Who you’ve met along the way. Where you’ve been and why. These all make up how you tell your story, enabling your audience to really connect with you. Emerging artists often downplay or omit their “journey”, instead trying to promote themselves like they’ve already made it. This is usually a mistake. Being genuine and transparent about where you are (and where you aren’t), while putting your own spin on things, will make your audience warm to you.
Fan Interactions: Your product extends to how you engage and react to interested individuals and fans. Online comments, direct messages, emails, livestreams, alongside real-world gigs or events all shape how your followers perceive you.
When thinking about your product, ask “what does it feel like to be a fan of you?”
Price
You may believe pricing is less relevant to you as a musician, given the main outlets for your work are the streaming platforms like Apple Music and Spotify, along with video platforms like YouTube.
Yet pricing is still an important consideration when applied to certain aspects of your output, your product. Always be mindful of the value you are offering. Once your fans are engaged enough to buy from you, the uniqueness of your work and their passion to support it, enables you to charge premiums when offering real and perceived value.
In today’s world of immediately available, digital, downloadable content, fans will place high value on real, tangible stuff they can get their hands on, or experiences they can savour and share with like-minded fan friends. That’s a huge advantage to music artists looking to generate an income from their fanbase.
Merchandising: Generate increased support from your hardcore fans by offering limited edition or special-to-order products. These could include CDs, vinyl or even cassette editions of your songs, to t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats or other wearables. Higher perceived value of these items, scarcity created through limited supply, as well as an innate desire from your fans to really support you and your work, allows pricing premiums to be set.
Ticket Pricing: While venues may control admission prices, what additional value can you offer or bundle in at higher prices? Backstage or soundcheck access? Exclusive or secret digital content? Bundled merch with any ticket sale or group of ticket sales?
Memberships: Create an exclusive feeling members-only club with a monthly fee or donation. Can you offer exclusive content or first release previews to your signed up community? Livestreams or online Q&A sessions? Behind-the-scenes practice or recording session videos? Merch or ticketing specials or preferences on new items or dates? This can be a great way to encourage ongoing support and recurring revenue from your biggest fans. Just make sure you’re delivering as promised!
That’s all we’ll cover for today. In the final part of the trilogy, we’ll talk through the final two tactical P’s – Promotion (Marketing Communications) and Place (Distribution Channels).
While waiting, consider the following questions for your own marketing?
Do you have clearly defined marketing objectives, derived from a well developed strategy?
Does your available money and time fit with those objectives or do you need to make reasonable adjustments?
Is your entire product consistent and desirable? Have you asked “what does it feel like to be a fan of you?”
Do you have any product areas where you can set pricing? If so, are you placing a high perceived value on your products to achieve maximum returns and help generate additional income for yourself?