Every other business does it. Why shouldn’t you? If you’re a business, you need to market and advertise. Somehow a lot of up and coming artists think that they can bypass this important necessity in their careers.
Even Jay Z needs a marketing budget for each release. “Well, I don’t have the money”, you say. Well you should find an investor because it’s going to be a hard grind if you don’t. Where should your money be spent? Wherever it’s affective. Do the research. Some of the ones who spend the money, don’t do the research and get suckered by wack promoters and publicists. If you have a new release, buy banner ads on hot blogs, or try Facebook ads. You know those ad videos that pre-roll every time you watch a YouTube video? Find out how much it costs to run one of those and target your audience.
You’re not just competing with other rappers you know? You’re competing with social networks, Grand Theft Auto, TV shows, and any other thing that’s taking attention away from you. And your competition is paying big money for marketing. That song you think was a viral sensation was most likely a well thought out marketing campaign made to appear that way.
Plus people know you’re serious when you’re spending money. You’re sure to get their attention. If there’s a DJ who wants to be paid for support, and you see that he’s effective at creating a buzz for artists, pay the man. If your research shows that a pay-for-post blog or magazine is creating results, spend the money. Invest in yourself. I don’t charge for posts here because I like to stay selective about what I post. But believe me, after running this blog for almost 5 years, I understand why some bloggers do it. For the exception of a few, the artist posting part of this is a thankless endeavor.
Bottom line is, you need traction. And a blog post here and a blog post there, separated by weeks or months, is not going to cut it. You need a marketing assault with some clever ideas to get attention. And even then, you better hope that you’re product is good enough to convert the listener once they give it a chance. I’m sure Eminem spend a truckload on his marketing campaign, and I still haven’t heard the album yet. I will eventually. Many others I know haven’t either. Not that it’s bad. We haven’t even taken the time to listen to it yet!
On the other hand, you can build and intimate tribe of followers, one person at a time. This takes time though. But if you want to make and impact, and you want to spread your message, you’re going to need a significant budget, and some smart people around you that know enough not to throw it down the toilet on bullshit. In the meantime, read some good books on marketing or Google the information. That education will do you good no matter what business you’re in. And it may save you a lot of time and money.
