Topspin co-founder, Shamal Ranasinghe, recently shared some data on music marketing at MidemNat based on a studies they’ve conducted over time.

One of the most interesting points according to the study is that majority of the revenue for artists comes from items that are priced over $20 despite the fact that majority of sales are from items priced under $10. Furthermore, the impact of physical goods versus digital only is huge–76% of sales for artists include some sort of physical product.

With an Audiolife account, you can easily create and sell physical products for no upfront costs.  With our warehousing and fulfillment service you can even create bundles that include both physical and digital products. For example, creating a limited edition merch item, marking it up and including a “free digital download” of a never before released song.  This exclusivity is a major selling point and very attractive for fans.

Below you will find a slide show presentation of the music marketing study Topsin presented. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Category: Direct to Fan, Marketing | No Comments »

Tags: music industry data, music marketing results, music marketing study, selling music online, Topspin

photo by derekb

In today’s music economy, you need to have a product line in order to create a sustainable business. This includes everything from your music to video, merch to swag to items seen as valuable.

One of the things I love about Audiolife is the ability to create an unlimited product stream, especially with merchandise like t-shirts and hoodies. One of the core principles we teach within the Label 2.0 training is to offer upsells to your fans at different points along the buying cycle. What we mean is that after someone buys your album, EP, whatever, you send them some follow up emails, engaging them into your brand and your culture. You can ask questions, have them follow or friend you on social networks and then offer complimentary products to the one they already purchased.

If you can get your fans to engage in your brand they will start to feel a part of your culture. When this happens you can now start sending them offers to add to your revenue stream. One of the best and most logical upsells is the t-shirt.

One of the biggest road blocks I hear from artists (and one that I see in merch booths) is the lack of t-shirt options, and terrible design, usually no more than a centered logo on a black tee.

When you have created culture with your fans, you need to embrace that and create a world that matches that culture and brand. Musicians do this through their music and their design. If you are design challenged (like me), here are some ideas to get creatives for your merch to start to add unlimited items into your Audiolife store.

Threadless – Here is a quick video I shot that shows you a way to find some great artists with some of the best designs in the world made specifically for t-shirts.

Using Threadless To Source Band Merch Ideas

oDesk, eLance, Scriptlance, Guru, etc – With these sites you can post projects and have freelancers bid on your work. You can look at their portfolio and choose someone that matches your style and ideas. Many of the artists come from overseas, so be sure to interview them diligently and be sure they have experience with band merch designs. Typically you can expect to spend less than $50 for about 10 unique designs.

Craigslist – For those that want to keep the work close to home, look no further than the online swap shop. Post jobs and give business to locals.

Colleges, art programs and trade schools – If you are fortunate enough to live close to some art students, take full advantage. Many need internship or portfolio credit to graduate and they are perfect for this type of work. Think of the perks you can offer from free CD’s to concert tickets and more. Many times they are happy with a shout-out on your blog and a link to their portfolio.

The goal with all of this is to start creating a product catalog. If you are only selling a $10 CD, that is all the revenue you can generate per fan. The more items you add to your catalog, the higher your per fan amount rises.

The next step is to integrate this into your email autoresponders and sales process.

What do you think? Have you looked at getting multiple designs done? What is really holding you back? How can Audiolife help you out? Let’s talk in the comments!

This post was written by Greg Rollett from Orlando, FL. Greg writes about music marketing daily and also has a music business and promotion training site, Label 2.0. Follow him on Twitter if you dare!

Category: Marketing | No Comments »

Tags: design inpsiration, designing CDs, designing merch, music design, selling your music

I will start off by saying that this is 100% my opinion on the 2010 GRAMMYs last night. If you disagree with anything I say, please feel free to share in the comments below. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Rather than do a “play by play analysis” of what went on at the GRAMMYs last night, since I’m sure you can find that elsewhere on the Internets, I thought I’d go through and list the good, the bad and, of course, the ugly:

The Good:

• Stephen Colbert.
• Lady Gaga and Elton John performing together with dirt (or something) smeared all over their faces.
• Slash coming out on stage to play his solo from “November Rain.”
• Beyonce performing a cover of Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughtta Know.” I thought she did the song justice and it was definitely better than her own song about being a boy.
• Kings of Leon finally getting some cred., even though many will say they “sold out.” Pish posh.

The Bad:

• Stephen Colbert. No, seriously. What was up with his lame jokes?
• Miley Cyrus … even if it was for 3 minutes.
• Taylor Swift winning album of the year. Putting aside the fact that I’m not particularly keen on teeny bopper music, I just truly TRULY cannot wrap my mind around the fact that she won. Did a bunch of 35-50 year old men and women sit in a conference room and suddenly decide that “You Belong With Me” really hit home? That finally someone understands them? Someone please explain …

The Ugly:

• Some random dude repeatedly telling us that Lady Gaga is “a monster.” It just became really awkward at some point.
• Slash playing his solo for “November Rain” during a performance of “Blame It.” Who comes up with these ideas and how?
• Every lame ass joke that someone said last night including the whole dialogue between John Legend and Carlos Santana.

I wasn’t sure where to fit this in exactly, but I still felt that I had to say: when did Pink join Cirque du Soleil?!

Category: Events, Reviews | 2 Comments »

Tags: 2010 Grammys, Beyonce Alanis Morissette, Lady Gagay and Elton John, Pink's performance at GRAMMYs, Slash GRAMMYs

Artwork Credit: www.budikwan.com

This is a list in the making …

Derek Sivers’ Blog
Alexa Traffic Rank: 42,736
As the founder of CD Baby, Derek has definitely made some noise in the industry so you know he has a thing or two to say about it. An entrepreneur and former musician himself, Derek shares his vast knowledge of the music business and doesn’t hold back.

Category: Marketing, Music 2.0 | 1 Comment »

Tags: best music blogs, Derek Sivers, Hypebot, music industry blogs, music industry resources, Paul Resnikoff, promoting music online

Mahmood Khan

Mahmood Khan is an experienced sound engineer, producer, writer, lyricist, performer and one of the pioneers of the fusion sound. After an extensive foray writing and producing music, Mahmood spent five years finding and putting together what is today known as mahmoodkhanFunk (MKF), a group of talented musicians. Check out their performance at the Sydney Opera House below:

Mahmood is a dedicated musician that has embraced the Internet and social media to promote his music.  After promoting their video on YouTube, they received 100k hits in just one week. MKF has also established a relationship with Gibson, getting them on board as partners to do some press. They are currently in the process of creating a weekly live performance of Mahmood Khan on the Internet using Livestream.

CLICK HERE to visit MKF’s site.

Category: Audiolife, Music | 1 Comment »

Tags: Audiolife artist, Mahmood Khan, mahmood khan funk

Our CEO, Brandon Hance, was listed on Under30CEO’s recent post–”What Are Your 2010 Business Resolutions?” Here’s what he had to say:

“ In 2010, I commit to staying to true what inspired us to create Audiolife as well as having the guts to put myself out there as a leader for artists and musicians around the world. I want to focus on creating deeper relationships with our artists and their fans while educating them – and create some disruption in the industry – on Web-based alternatives to custom promotion, manufac­turing and distribution.” – Brandon Hance

CLICK HERE to read what other CEOs had to say as well.

Category: Audiolife | No Comments »

Tags: 2010 business resolutions, Audiolife

New Years resolutions can be a pain.  You know you’re supposed to follow through but it’s not always easy.  That’s why it’s important to set realistic ones that are simple to achieve but will make you feel accomplished. If you’re ultimate goal in 2010 is to advance your music career, then the following 5 resolutions will help you achieve that goal:

1. Give back to your fans.  This is always important and simpler than you think.  It could be a friendly little email with an exclusive download or even a video of you playing a song about how great they are.

2. Be creative. This is obvious but crucial to really focus on and remember at all times.  As a musician, it’s your job to be creative. But it’s also important to think outside of the box and be creative in other areas of your music career as well. Such as what you’re going to do for your fans in #1.

3. Create a bank account for your music career.  If you want to have a music career then you have to treat it like a business.  Take it seriously by setting aside some money to invest in merch or better equipment. And remember, there are some great ways to promote and sell your music and merch for little to no costs (like Audiolife)!

4. Embrace technology. Seriously guys. If all you have is a MySpace profile, it’s time to focus some of your efforts elsewhere too.  There is a slew of great resources out there JUST FOR YOU! Embrace them. Love them. Use them!

5. Have fun! After all, I did say it’s important to be realistic. [:

I’d love to hear some of your own New Years resolutions in the comments below!

Category: Marketing, Music 2.0 | 3 Comments »

© Bertold Werkmann | Dreamstime.com

This is a list in the making.  It started with 5 Music Industry Leaders (You Should Follow) followed by 9 Music Industry Leaders (You Should Follow).  Thanks to your comments, we’re now up to 14!

Follow Tim Westergren
Founder of Pandora
Almost a decade ago, Tim Westergren and his colleagues launched one of the most disruptive online music projects the music industry had ever had to cope with. A revolution in both technology and user experience, Pandora become the leading online music streaming service and recommendation engine for music lovers around the globe. With that, Pandora was also at the forefront of royalty disputes with major content owners.

Follow Daniel Ek
Co-Founder and CEO of Spotify
Daniel Ek is a serial entrepreneur. A child technology marvel, he started his first company at the age of 14 and has since created, led and sold several companies at the cutting edge of new media and tech. His most recent project, Spotify, a legal streaming music service, has taken the world by storm.

Follow Martin Atkins
Speaker and Author of Tour:Smart
Martin Atkins, a veteran ‘progressive’ drummer, has recorded and toured with Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, Killing Joke, PigFace, and Public Image Ltd., among other post-punk/industrial acts. He has emerged from his highly-charged Rock ‘n’ Roll lifestyle to guide the next generation of artists through educational programs, speaking engagements, and how-to literature on the subject of independent artist promotion and touring.

Follow Bruce Houghton
Founder and Editor of Hypebot
Hypebot is the most respected music industry blog. Read religiously by music business professionals, independent artists and music enthusiasts, no other blog provides such coverage, information and analysis on music business trends. Bruce Houghton is a regular speaker and moderator at prominent music conferences.

Follow Paul Resnikoff
Founder and Publisher of Digital Music News
Digital Music News is a leading news and information resource for the music industry. Paul Resnikoff has become well known for his executive writing style and “Resnikoff’s Parting Shot”, a colorful commentary on current events.

» Continue Reading

Category: Social Networking | 4 Comments »

Tags: music industry leaders, twitter

My mom is very proud of me.

I gave her a CD of my music last Christmas.  Whenever her girlfriends come over, she slides out the inlay card and points to the credits where it says, “Thank you mom for being my greatest supporter!”

I know my music is not exactly her cup of tea.  But she’s always been my biggest fan.

And there’s my dad.  He’s my number one follower.  When I told him that everyone’s using Twitter, he went to Home Depot looking for one and came back with an alarm clock. He says it works just fine.

My mom and dad are at the top of my fan list.

Who are YOUR biggest fans and what are you doing to make them feel special this holiday season?

Leave a comment

Happy Holidays!

Category: Audiolife, Direct to Fan, Marketing | 17 Comments »

Tags: artist to fan relationship, building a fan base, Direct to Fan, DIY musician, Holiday Promotion

The following video tutorial will show you how to manage your Audiolife store. Below you will find a transcription of the video.

Run time: 2:50

1. Once you’ve logged in, click on Manage My Store. You will first see a list of merchandise with everything that’s available in your store.

2. You can Remove the item or Edit Item. If you want to change the design of the shirt you need to first Remove the item.

3. By clicking on Remove, you don’t actually delete the item. It gets moved down to the section of items that you have created but not yet added to your store (scroll down the Manage My Store page to see these).

4. Here, you can click on Edit Item and you will be able to actually edit your design.

5. At the top of Manage My Store, you will notice tabs for Albums, Downloads, and Ringtones as well. You can do the same with Album Designs as you can with Merch Designs.

6. If you’ve created an item but haven’t added it to your store, then scroll down to that section and select Add to Store. If you have a lot of items that you haven’t added to your store yet, it can be a great way to release items over time to your fans.

7. If you want to buy one of your T-shirts, then all you have to do is go to the products already added to your store and select Buy Now. You will be able to purchase it for the base price. Select how many you’d like and click on Add to Cart. You can buy in bulk to take on tours or to sell at shows or special events.

Related Video Tutorials

How to Launch Your Store

How to Create Merch

Using Images in the Design Studio

Category: Video Tutorials | 4 Comments »

Tags: Audiolife, managing your store