Why Should I Pay For One Of Your Dance Music Creations?

How much hate are we going to get here? This should be a happy dance music website :)

But it is something I have always wondered.

Now I am not talking about albums, I am talking about 1 song. An MP3 from iTunes- about $1.29 Canadian.

10 of those is about $14 give or take a few pennies if they existed, to create an album.

But what do I actually have?

Nothing, just some digital bytes.

Sure I could stream my music for $X/month but I still get bytes.

The value therefore is not consistent with what I have bought. Do I value that song compared to some subconscious thought of something of similar cost?

Is the value of a dance music song worth it?

At the end of the day, it is not, regardless of what is said (took time to make, studio time, workers involved etc).

Piracy? If you song is spreading due to pirates, you are doing something right :) It might actually help you.

I compare- and most people groan, with the singles that you bought- records/ CDs. You got something physical for the same price $5 (probably more due to inflation). The art work was great, the details of the group/ song was cool and the lyrics (if any) was great as well. And if you think about it, the cost of production would be higher with the reduced dependence upon technology.

But then the digital revolution occurred and the price roughly stayed the same and you got less.

Double Dip?

Then an album gets released and you get the same song on that album, which you have already bought. So the album should be $1.29 less...but it is not.

So what do most people/ artists do?

Exactly the same as everyone else.

They sell singles, create an album, repeat. Maybe tour inbetween.

Some artists do different and get noticed for it.

Nine Inch Nails create a tier plan- you bought at certain levels and got increasing amount of merch per sale.

Another group gave you a choice of what you want to pay. They could then see what people would actually pay (the vast majority bought at a price and a handful said no cost).

Unsure how these worked out, but it was ahead of its time. Unfortunately with those types of things they have a 50/50 chance of working. And instead of keeping with it, they drop it saying it doesn't work. Instead of being the leader, they become the same.

Rewarding fans? Thats what Madonna did

Artists have to understand that there are many artists around and if every single one is doing something exactly the same. Well, what is the point?

This is something that needs to be baked into each dance music song. What are you going to do with it? Create an album, make it your lead song, send it out to your subscribers/ fans as a thank you. Or send out trials of your music, see which one they liked.

To get ahead you might have to do something much better.

Madonna signed to Live Nation an "all in one" deal which means that they take care of her websites/ marketing/ merch and ticket sales. This is because Live Nation knows the following:

if you went to a concert you might be interested in merch
if you bought a ticket online, then you are probably going to be told about the next up and coming concert

You want people to come to your site, for information about you. People are following you so they want to know about you and behind the scenes.

The idea would be anyone who subscribes gets something. Discount to music, free songs (especially hit songs), hard copies (buy through this link and get the digital song but also get XY and Z in the post. Then you have:

physical address to follow up with higher cost merch, also physical address creates a higher conversion
fans that become loyal
fans that will not be able to price shop or question the price of products as they will be hidden in bundles
you become the provider of products and be the primary source rather than be dominated by a third party

Dropping a hit song first to your list is cool and a step in the right direction. But how about if that was a product leader? You lose money on the first song but gain it on the backend of the products that you would sell?

Anyone Can Do This And It Works Well For No-Name Artists

Websites offer content to people who search for specific terms. Product websites host information on the product, everything you want, they have. Discounts/ coupons, behind the scenes, how it was created etc. Some artists even do an "invite only" concert.

Many will use Youtube and have Youtube do all the work. But how about if you used Youtube to funnel people back to your website? It would be a great way to spread your message but also using the same technology to help you build up your fan list.

New artists can by-pass traditional avenues (like monthly paid streaming services) and tell people through a blog about the artist that they enjoy. Who are they like, can they have an interview, can the artist interview their fave artists or dissect a track of theirs? The possibilities are truly endless. But, alas, few artists do this.

They sell single songs on streaming sites, like tons of other artists around them...

Check out more articles on the Jasonera blog.