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V4V music marketing promotion: open debate
2227 sats \ 5 comments \ @softglitter2d 10 Dec meta
zaps forwarded to @denlillaapan (5%)
Following up on the ongoing debate about the value of music, regardless of how it ultimately resolves, I've drawn a few conclusions.
The article: #796401 The debate: #798342
I recommend before moving on this post, check those, it has zero waste.
  • First, (the post) states that music itself does not hold value; rather, what we value is the time we spend alongside our favorite artist.
  • Merchandise is the cornerstone of artists' livelihoods. Spotify pays a fraction, which for artists essentially feels like paying a subscription to be heard, while for the consumer, it’s like paying a subscription to listen legally and to support the artist.
    Unless you belong to the top 5% of global artists, I don’t see how Spotify can help artists today, much less podcasters. This is where interesting models like Wavlake come in, offering artists ownership of their own music and the corresponding revenue share.
Having made these points and reviewed the previous debate, how should artists' music marketing be directed? What key points should be taken into account? In this model, the artist can promote their music, because unlike other platforms or subscription models, a person who boosts the music covers the cost for others who listen without contributing a Satoshi.
What advice can we provide strictly from a commercial perspective to artists who embrace V4V?
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325 sats \ 0 replies \ @denlillaapan fwd 10 Dec
Yeah wonderful questions!
Tldr; exclusivity, small scale, and art (as hobby on the side).
What's so liberating about this perspective is that instead of thinking of music as work and a difficult (globally accessible) industry to make it in, it becomes art -- and much more localized.
My village has a surprisingly active music scene (given its size), with a few musicians putting up performances (with like 10 people in audience) or inviting their friends from elsewhere to play. It's usually all donation based and those in attendance are happy to part with money for exclusivity -- and direct support of artists.
They all have real jobs on the side, realizing that their art is a passion, not an economic value-add.
But yeah, wavlake and special performances on Nostr etc would be one way to go.
In an informational overload era of next-to-infinite supply and very limited demand (and even less limited dollars), you have to realize that however good you think your stuff is, it's probably not that good globally speaking.
Access, or local in-the-here-and-now, on the other hand -- very different story.
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356 sats \ 1 reply \ @jasonb 10 Dec
This is kind of an ironic post to bump into today. I'm about to drive up to a far away town to make some music, and they're going to give me enough money to cover this month's mortgage! haha Admittedly, today's gig is pretty good for a Tuesday, but my income is currently1 still entirely from music, and I have four dependents! I'm not sure how you're defining economic value, but there are people and companies that are willing and able to pay myself and other artists that I work with enough to live pretty comfy, middleclass lives.
I would recommend avoiding V4V for anybody that is actually making music commercially. It's fun for side projects, and a great place for hobbyists, but really the only way to monetize recordings is to sell at shows or through bandcamp exclusively. Most artists in circles that I run in view Spotify and Wavlake and similar platforms more for documenting work. When you want to release something on the internet in a scarce way, use bandcamp.

Footnotes

  1. I actually totally want to work in bitcoin these days. My passion is there since 2020, but ironically can't find anything beyond volunteer stuff, which is fine. In the meantime, music is my daygig! haha ↩
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17 sats \ 0 replies \ @denlillaapan fwd 10 Dec
never heard of bandcamp, can you tell us more?
As for the post, congrats to you sir. It's incomprehensible to me that anybody can land gigs like this. As a venue/label etc, I can grab a kid off the street (or music school or whatever) and they'll perform for free, and I'm achieving 95% or so of what you could do (I presume -- maybe you're unique and Taylor-style amazing etc?). But sure, maybe there's something to be said for flexibility or small-town, actually putting in the effort and caring. Not sure.
With the avalanche of music production worldwide and the millions of people capable of making, singing, producing, playing instruments, it just seems obvious as a matter of economic fact that all that (potential) supply and interest drives the price to zero. No moat, endless competition.
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38 sats \ 1 reply \ @DesertDave 10 Dec
Make good music. Get paid from fans.
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11 sats \ 0 replies \ @denlillaapan fwd 10 Dec
Honest. Beautiful
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