With a plethora of artists out there all trying to grab the attention of new fans on their own it’s becoming harder and harder to become a traditional rock star in the eyes of the consumer (imagine Michael Jackson when I say “Rock Star”). It’s not new news that sales are going down; however, people still appreciate music today as much as they did 50 years ago. The way people sell music today is much different and I’m here to tell you that direct-to-fan is the reason why the untouchable “Rock Star” is turning into a dinosaur. You won’t find a definition for Direct-To-Fan on Wikipedia but most music industry professionals on top of their game will all tell you the value of Direct To Fan. Direct-To-Fan turns the consumer into a True Fan (see Kevin Kelly’s 1000 True Fans) by engaging them through various experiences directly from the artist. It turns ordinary items used to sell an experience like buying a concert ticket into an experience in and of itself through a deeper connection. Direct-To-Fan also leads to word of mouth too, which is ultimately what artists want. The Rock Stars of today (we’ll use Madonna as an example) will probably never need to entice their fans with direct to fan methodology to sell out tours; however, if Madonna jumped on a video stream and sold 100 tickets all personally autographed that would probably create a stir not just amongst the lucky fans able to engage with Madonna but amongst the music community as a whole. It’s that direct-to-fan example that can go a VERY long way and it’s free. It can also make artists seem more relevant (look at Trent Reznor of NIN) because if you’re friend tells you about it you’ll listen. If a TV ad runs you might not tell another sole. Unless they were advertising around direct-to-fan.
My 2 cents.
Tags: direct to fan, word of mouth
