“Thanks to the internet, fans and fan clubs today are absolutely more important than they’ve ever been,’ stated T.K. Kimbrell, President, TKO Artist Mgmt and longtime manager to Toby Keith.   “More and more people every day have access to computers and the Web.  That’s where people go to get their information.  We can spread news about our artists and instantly reach fans all over the world.”

“It benefits all artists to have an online Community,” said Heather Conley, Director, Marketing, Lyric Street and Carolwood Records.  “As a record company, we really look to the Web and fan Communities as a major component of our marketing strategy.” 

Taken from “The Fan Club Revolution….How Online Culture Redefines and Intensifies the Artist/Fan Connection.”

CMA Close Up Aug/Sept 2009
 
 
Below is an excerpt from Cedric Muhammed's article The Free Era: Music As Ingredient, Not Main Course

In terms of the formula Value = Benefits/Price one can see that with social media creating communities around the brand, image and reputation of an artist’s celebrity and reality, much more than music can be sold. This is the basis of some of my marketing advice for Jay Electronica, my building with Wyclef , my writing about the new life that ‘fan clubs’ can take on; and my thoughts on the importance of an artist’s ‘story’ (read here).

By giving away some music for free or more cheaply, and making other forms of it available, along with information (placed in the right categories and hierarchies), and providing exclusive access to an artists’ celebrity and reality, a goldmine awaits us.

Of course it will mean a certain kind of artist will become ‘extinct’ while another type becomes more appealing, but more on that in the future.
It’s time to stop worrying about lowering price so much and focus more on increasing benefits.

Not all free and not all fee, but freemium.

The results can be priceless…

Cedric Muhammad is a business consultant, political strategist, and monetary economist. He is also a former GM of Wu-Tang Management and is author of the book, The Entrepreneurial Secret (http://theEsecret.com/).