The Music Gardener - Artist Manager, Music Marketer

Do you know who you are marketing to?

I am amazed at the marketing approach I have seen in the Christian music industry over the last few years. Please let me say that not all record companies fall in this category but many of them that I have worked with do. The first and most basic point in marketing is to know your audience. Who are you marketing to? Define your customer. Throw away the dart board! Dart boards are meant for game rooms, marketing takes place in an office environment. You would be surprised at how many labels don’t even have a marketing plan!

One of the best marketing record labels that I worked with in the last ten years is INO Records. Jeff Mosely, President of INO, always kept it simple. I looked so forward to seeing his marketing plans and presentations. He knew who his target customer was for every single release. INO’s marketing plan covered the basics for marketing to that particular audience and he always had one “Big Idea” to grow that audience. The “Big Idea” would be something innovative and designed to build the customer base. That explains the success of INO Records over the last eight years and why they as an independent record company have held a higher market share than some of the major labels. Jeff also surrounded himself with great people and mentored them into great marketers. One of Jeff’s proteges is Dan Michaels who now leads the marketing team for INO.

Marketing plans are essential to a successful record release. How can you market a product without a plan? The marketing plan is a map designed to keep a team of people focused on the goal. Marketing plans can be fluid and change as you move along but with a plan, everyone stays on course even through change. The Boy Scouts of America teach this basic skill to every boy that goes through the scout program. “Make Your Plan, then Work Your Plan”   www.artistgardenentertainment.com

It amazes me what little information many people in the music industry know about blogging. I guess it really shouldn’t surprise me as my first real exposure was only about six months ago and I have been in the music business for twenty years. The power of blogging is incredible! As I run across more bloggers with massive followings, the marketing ideas begin to explode. Some bloggers have 10,000+ people visiting their blog daily. Their subscribers are devoted followers. Seth Godin describes these followers as the blogger’s Tribe. (by the way, I highly recommend Seth Godin’s book Tribes along with subscribing to his blog) The blogger’s subscribers can’t get enough. They follow their blog, they follow them on Twitter hanging on to every word the blogger types. I really expected these powerful bloggers to be “hard to get to blogging rock stars” but they are really receptive to someone who is genuinely interested in them and recognizes their ability to influence. The bloggers I have had contact with are very approachable. Every marketing plan that I design in 2009 will include blogging. Blogging is the new music marketing tool for me in 2009! Need some marketing or blogging consulting? Visit us at www.artistgardenentertainment.com

This week I had the opportunity to attend the NAMM convention in Anaheim, CA. Being a musician myself, I had always dreamed of attending NAMM. Every instrument dealer in the world gathered under one roof to show off their latest goods. One thing that really amazed me is how much things have changed in the instrument world since I was a young musician. Technologoy has had such an impact on how we make music today. My son-in-law, who is in the band Salvador,  was playing a show for Roland so we spent a great deal of time in their area. What a great company! They were so kind to Salvador and treated them very well. Salvador played an amazing show using all Roland gear including v-drums  and electronic percussion.

I used the opportunity to try to look for some aditional endorsements for my son-in-law and for bands the we mangage at Artist Garden Entertainment. One of the best experiences was with Fender. Not only do they make some of the best guitars on the market, but they have some really great artist relations people. Their Austin rep, Mark Weber, was very gracious. We attended a show in their showcase room that featured Lincoln Brewster. What an incredible guitar player! I sold a couple of Lincoln’s early records on Integrity back in my Word days but had forgotten what an amazing talent he is! He also has an incredible bass player in his band. I only caught the bass player’s first name, Norman.

My time at the NAMM cnvention made me wonder if there is some bigger marketing idea that could be developed with endorsements. What if the instrument companies entered the arena with the record company, booking agent and management on the launch of an artist cd release? Yes, there have been promotions with autographed guitar give-aways but could there be something bigger? The endorsements usually come after an artist has put some major points on the scoreboard but what if endorsements played a role in the launch of a new artist? As we all scramble to find additional resources for marketing, endorsements is one I think we should consider. After all, the music begins with an instrument!  Visit us at www.artistgardenentertainment.com

Artist Garden Entertainment met this week with SkorInc. We are looking at the benefits to doing blogsites vs static websites for some of the artist we represent. Broady Harper and Randy Hicks at SkorInc are at the forefront of building blogsites that have the appearance and serve as websites. Blogsites turn every aspect of your website into a two way conversation which is what music consumers are screaming for. We have done a few test over the last couple of months and have been amazed at how friends on social networks react so quickly when pointed to a blog that allows them to interact with the blogger. SkorInc has a great service they are offering artist. Just ask Mercy Me, Natalie Grant, The Katinas or Shane & Shane to name a few of their clients. At this point we are leaning towards blogsites over websites and would recommend that to any artist looking at building a new website or rebuilding a current website. Visit us at www.artistgardenentertainment.com

We have been checking out a great deal of new music lately with the launch of our management company. When we first make contact with a band, MySpace.com and their website is our first exposure. With the low cost of recording, most artist are able to put together a pretty good sounding package on their own. That can make it difficult to get a true picture of the artist so we try to see them live as soon as possible. One of my favorite venues in Nashville to see new bands is The Rutledge. The room sounds great, it’s comfortable, they don’t allow smoking and they have tiered seating. Last night we were invited to see a fairly new band called Manic Bloom. These guys put on a fantastic show! They are all phenomenal musicians and an extremely tight band. Not that they sound like these bands but there musicianship and the intricate melodic runs reminded me of some of the prog rock bands I grew up listening to; Marillion, Rush, Yes, Genesis and Iron Maiden (not exactly prog rock). It is great to see a band where each member is equally a master of their instrument. I would recommend Manic Bloom as a band to see live! You won’t be disappointed. Visit us at www.artistgardenentertainment.com

Artist Garden Entertainment recently attended our second Connect meeting in Nashville. Connect is group of artist managers and booking agents in the Nashville, TN area who meet once a month to build relationships with one another. Connect was created by Andrew Patton and Gregg Oliver. During the meeting, we are encouraged to leave business conversations at the door and focus on connecting deeper with other personally. Each week there is great food and a guest speaker. This week we were privileged to have Amy Grant speak and play a few songs. Amy was so eloquent as always and told a few stories that touched everyone’s heart. After Amy’s time, we broke out into smaller groups and discussed personal life issues with one another. As we were discussing things in our smaller group, someone made a comment that really made us all so grateful for Amy. The statement was made that there probably wouldn’t be a Contemporary Christian Music Industry as we know it had it not been for Amy. Sure there were other people singing about their Christian Faith, but Amy brought Christian Music into the mainstream which launched a huge business. Business is always hard for me to say in the same sentence as the word Christian, but then I think about the millions of lives that have been changed as a result of the Christian Music Business. As hard as it for some to understand how Christian and business go together (including me), I am reminded why we all do what we do. All Christians want to spread God’s word and see lives changed but we are a privileged few who get to do that daily through our jobs. My perspective on what I am doing daily was changed today and I am thankful for Connect! Visit us at www.artistgardenentertainment.com

Artist Garden Entertainment is believing that 2009 will be an incredible year for music!  If you are looking for marketing that works, contact us at http://www.artistgardenentertainment.com