Alternative Income Stream For Musicians (And Others) What happens when you put out music that distribution companies won't touch, radio won't play, and only a small percentage of the population is interested in?
The movie industry has the same problems. The major distributors won't touch a lot of movies because they don't think there's enough money in it for them. Remember, the mainstream movie business literally runs as much on popcorn-sales as ticket-sales. Big, violent action movies bring in audiences that eat $7 boxes of popcorn and $4 cups of soft drinks.
But thanks for new technology, distribution (and return on investment) is getting a lot easier.
One alternative is Spiritual Cinema Circle, which is a DVD subscription service where subscribers get new movies automatically sent to them every month.
And here is where it gets exciting...
Subscribers are encouraged to share the movies with friends and family, in order to broaden the worldwide Spiritual Cinema community. So one DVD can be seen by potentially dozens of people.
This is how buzz is developed.
You could do the same thing with your music. It's like a record pool that bypasses the DJ and goes straight to the
consumer.
Imagine having thousands of people who are interested in a certain type of music, eagerly awaiting the next compilation of mp3 files in their mailbox each month.
And because people who like a certain type of music usually know other people who like that same type of music, imagine the promotion you could get by encouraging them to pass along your files to their friends.
But wait... Shouldn't you want to get paid for your music?
Of course. And if you're able to play live, can come up with good merchandising, and other streams of income, you'll be fine. Just because you're a musician doesn't mean you have to make a living off selling recorded music. If selling shirts of your band enables you to make that music, does it really matter where the money comes from?
About the Author
David Hooper is the founder of Kathode Ray Music, an artist development organization specializing in promotion and marketing of independent musicians and bands. Visit http://WWW.GUITAR-CHORDS-AND-LYRICS.COM for more tips and hints for musicians, bands, and songwriters.
