I Fight Dragons: 1 Band, 1 Year, & 10,000 New Fans – In Defense of 1,000 True Fans
Sunday, January 31st, 2010
Over the last few days I have spent some time contemplating the structure of Me Like Good Music. Though the primary focus has been (and continues to be) sharing/spotlighting/promoting music and artists I find appealing, it’s also been my intention to include information to help non-mainstream artists become more pro-active in the business side of the music industry. In the future, I’ll try to give the two equal presence here.
Last year, I sent a long email to a rapper whose music wasn’t a good fit for Me Like Good Music, yet had enough commercial appeal to attract industry attention. In that email (which I will share in a future post), I gave as much advice as I could think of to get people to notice him and his music. In 2010 and beyond, I will make more of an effort to share those insights as well as the advice of other industry insiders. This brings me to Ariel Hyatt’s article “I Fight Dragons: 1 Band, 1 Year, & 10,000 New Fans – In Defense of 1,000 True Fans” over at Music Think Tank, since some of the advice it contains is similar to the advice I gave. (Note that Hyatt’s article is part five of a series. Be sure to read the other articles as well. Better yet, subscribe to the MTT newsletter…that is, after you have subscribed to Me Like Good Music’s mailings first.)
While reading the article, I kept thinking of how much the advice would benefit an artist struggling to build a fanbase. There’s no better “how to” for getting something done than to get the perspective of someone trying to accomplish a similar goal. While you’re reading the article, think about how you can incorporate I Fight Dragon’s efforts into your self-marketing plan, as well as how you can (1) take it to another level by improving on their concepts and (2) cater it to your particular genre(s), efforts and audience. Most importantly, give significant consideration to the fan’s perspective. If an unknown artist came to you, what would that artist need to do/offer to get your attention?
The sky’s the limit for today’s new artist. If you can make good music and perform it well in front of an audience, you can make music a sustainable career. You may not become a superstar but you’ll be a working musician who doesn’t need a second job to get the bills paid. The Music Think Tank article has started the ball rolling. Keep it going by leaving comments here and at Music Think Tank, sharing your insights and experiences. Don’t think you have nothing to share because you haven’t achieved the level of success you want. Every small achievement you share helps the next person.
When I come across interesting music-related articles, I usually just share them with followers on Twitter and Facebook. But when I came across this article, I had to put it on the site because it’s a list that includes one of my favorite bands from 2009, 
