Tag Archive for: David Geffen

Reach and Frequency Feature Image

Marketing of any kind requires 2 very necessary components: Reach and Frequency.Reach and Frequency Molecule

 

First, you have to reach the (hopefully) targeted audience.

 

Second, there has to be frequency on the message, regardless of how good it is, before it sinks in.

 

Both are expensive via the mass media.

 

Both aren’t working anymore via the mass media either.

 

Reach and Frequency Old School Collage

Let’s look at your dreams of breaking on the radio right now; I want to focus on that.

 

Let’s break down both marketing components with regards your assumptions on the significance of radio spins today.

 

If you think about it, reach in mass marketing wouldn’t allow a whole lot of “surgical” targeting or micro-targeting. (You are a unique artist after all.)

 

For instance, you could be getting spins on a country station and your audience would be targeted to country but think about how segmented that is. Traditional Country (old school icons), Pop Country (Faith Hill, Carrie Underwood, Shania Twain), Bro Country (You know them), Country Rap (Big Smo, Big & Rich [remember Cowboy Troy?]), Country Rock (Jason Aldean, Eric Church), Alternative Country (Jason Isbell, Kasey Musgraves), etc.

Reach and Frequency Everyone Else

 

Not so targeted, huh?

 

Just like you, fans have VERY divisive thoughts and opinions about each of these subcategories. This dynamic is true of any genre, by the way, like rap, rock, pop, indie, etc.

 

Consumers are passionate about their subgenres.

 

 

Here’s the thing, radio was super-effective and worked for 60+ years because the reach was SO big. Everybody radio reached was paying attention with fewer distractions, and up until the last 20 years, there were far fewer sub genres.

Reach and Frequency Passionalte

 

Absorb that statement, can you get your head around how efficient radio used to be?

 

Too many of you have false hope that if you get your hit song on the radio in any given market that it might “blow up” after people hear it once.

 

 

 

Let’s dissect this belief for a second.

Reach and Frequency Blow Up

 

Let’s assume for the argument that people are actually “listening” to the radio.

 

What does that mean, “listening”?

 

Terrestrial radio is mostly consumed in the car. What goes on in the car (phone conversations, texting, Vining, Snapchatting, Twittering, Facebooking, YouTube, movies for the kids in back, etc.)? Who’s driving? Do they have kids?

 

Reach and Frequency Driving Texting

What are they thinking about while a song presumably provides a backdrop for the onslaught of mundane errands, social media addiction, fodder-like drama, real drama, conversations, text messages, arguments, rants, road rage, and otherwise general thought processes that occur in their heads even when their favorite familiar artist is playing?

 

 

They’re NOT thinking about you.

They’re not focusing on your song.

 

Hell, they’re not focusing on DRIVING!

 

Think about how your driving habits and behavior have changed since the invention of social media and smart phones in the last 10 years.

 

Yikes!

 

Next time you are listening to the radio, I want you to try and be aware of EVERYTHING else that is going on inside your head, your car, your office, etc.  Are YOU really “listening”?Reach and Frequency Why Don't You Get Me (2)

 

See my point?

 

Do you really expect anyone to “get” you and understand you as an artist after hearing one song, one time?

 

Here’s the sobering truth:  They’re not “listening”.

 

They have aux cables, WiFi in the car, and their own preferences.

 

When it comes to the reach element of the marketing equation, you are battling people with all these distractions while the radio is playing.

 

Simply put, you’re not reaching anyone.

At least in terms of the reach equation with regards to terrestrial radio. ESPECIALLY on your indie budget which doesn’t allow for anywhere near enough frequency. I’ll get to that shortly.

 

Truth is they’re most likely avoiding the radio altogether and experiencing music they are already acquainted with emitting that conversant signal from their smartphones.

 

Next, who’s going to hear it exactly?

 

In other words, is it your targeted audience?

 

With Bailey James, her audience is 7-14 year old kids. What station do they listen to?

 

Of the reach that terrestrial radio has in a given market, how many of the people listening are in your demographic and subgenre?

Reach and Frequency Sterilization

 

Can you comprehend the erosion of consumer attention here?

 

How about the resultant “art by committee” that occurs to optimize your chances for being spun?

 

 

2 words: Artistic Sterilization.

 

The tactics for effective reach have to change if you’re to be effective. Period.

 

To think otherwise is to be naïve.

 

To be naïve is to sacrifice your artist soul forever.

 

Artists, your soul is at stake!

Reach and Frequency Suffering Artistic Soul

 

Your artist soul won’t care why you don’t have an audience. It’ll just suffer the common tragic death because there is not enough adoration and compensation for the good work.

 

 

Which creates frustration.

 

Which creates doubt.

 

These are the initial infections that lead to the gangrenous decomposition of the artist dream.

 

I’ll bet that one hit close to home.

 

Don’t trip, it’s preventable to the seekers of the truth.

 

Reach and Frequency Preventable

Frequency, the second component of the marketing equation is equally mission critical.

 

Major advertisers are acutely aware of this fact and you must be as well.

You’ve heard the stories (that continue to feed your uninformed hope) about artists like Guns & Roses whose life changing Appetite for Destruction record took a year to break. They were about to be dropped. Then label owner David Geffen called in a personal favor at MTV who played the new video for the second single “Sweet Child ‘O’ Mine” at 3am on a Saturday morning and they blew up.

 

Yes that happened.

Reach and Frequency Appetite For Destruction

But not the way you imagine it.

 

That ONE video spin caused enough of a reaction to convince MTV it deserved a few more spins. They bought into frequency of their precious airwaves.

 

Which begat more video spins.

 

Don’t look now, but GNR blew up because good art met with reach and frequency in a medium where the market was paying attention.

 

Who’s paying attention today?

 

To be perfectly clear, it was frequency on a hugely popular NATIONALY CONSUMED television music station that no longer plays music videos and is no longer nationally consumed.

Reach and Frequency No MTV Logo

 

Assuming you’re on the radio and anyone is “listening” it takes a TON of spins A.K.A. frequency for your art to sink in and catch on with each individual listener.

 

Now, how many times are you getting spun per day in each market?

 

 

How many spins till any individual experiences enough frequency within a given market to influence them to take action and buy your single, ya know, when they get home from driving, unload the kids, stop texting, and hop off Facebook?

 

Get it?

 

Reach and Frequency How Many Spins MemeFrequency takes time even when there was an attentive mass market to influence. Most radio promo campaigns take at least 35 weeks to get traction with established iconic stars never mind a new emerging artist.

 

Frequency is also expensive on mass media.

 

Expensive means its cost prohibitive to the indie artist like you.

 

This is why radio promo has become a poor, archaic approach to any new artist’s promotional strategy. Even to the majors with million dollar budgets.

 

It used to work, now it doesn’t.

 

Get over it.

 

Wow, that sounds disappointing doesn’t it?

 

Ready for the good news?

Reach and Frequency is free

 Frequency is FREE if you have the audience’s permission.

 

Emails, text messages, social media posts, tweets, snapchats, etc. are free once you get their attention.

 

It used to be that your music opened the door and got you noticed within a market. That is no longer true.

 

Now, you have to break through another way, and the quality of your music is what keeps you in the room.

 

Stop fighting the way you “think” it should be or the way it “used” to be and start imagining how you can break through with the way it is.

 

Reach and Frequency JimiJimi Hendrix, one of the ultimate rock guitar Gods was a huge star in England that couldn’t break through the clutter of USA radio in the 60’s (when radio ruled and there was no real clutter!). He wasn’t noticed, that is to say he didn’t come into anyone’s awareness (in the States) because of his music, at first. It wasn’t until he played the Monterey Pop Festival and famously lit his guitar on fire that he caught the attention of the American people.

 

This seemingly impromptu sacrificial burning ritual was NOT a spontaneous act from an artist “in the moment”, rather it was a premeditated, strategic plan put forth by his brilliant PR firm.

 

They (being Jimi and the PR firm) got our attention.

 

Then, we listened to him play.

 

After we opened our hearts & minds to really “listen” we truly experienced Jimi, and we responded. We fell in love!

 

Are you picking up what I’m putting down?

 

Don’t confuse the love and importance of your favorite artist’s music with the strategy that was used to get your attention.

 

STOP focusing on what you don’t have (money, management, radio, label deal, blah, blah, blah) and START focusing on what you DO have.

 

Reach and Frequency Focus

Focus on creating relationships with an audience. If you do that you’ll own what the marketing world considers to be the greatest asset of all, HEADSPACE and TRUST.

 

They’ll listen with an open heart and an open mind.

 

 

If you’re compelling, and they know & trust you, they’ll buy your music, merchandise, tickets, and anything else you suggest is cool.

 

You now know what the record business refuses to figure out. The numbers prove this point and the numbers don’t lie because the numbers can’t talk.

 

Here’s what you DO have.

 

Free surgically targeted reach via social media and YouTube.Reach and Frequency Social Media Logos

 

Free frequency if you’re smart enough to begin amassing contact data.

 

Oh, and your intelligent creative brain to begin connecting the dots.

 

Stay

In

Tune

 

If you liked the information in this article please SHARE it and comment! Thanks!

 

 

The Climb 200x200

 

 

P.S. I you like podcast formats, I have a new one with hit songwriter Brent Baxter called The  C.L.I.M.B. (Creating Leverage In the Music Business). You can listen HERE for free. again, please leave a rating and a review.

 

 

 

 

Proximity Feature

If you want to play the game you need to be in the game. To get in the game requires proximity.

Proximity Game MEME

 

But proximity to what, exactly?

 

Proximity to the knowledge, outlook, perspective, talent, and energy you need to achieve your definition of success.

 

Proximity is absolutely everything, and those that truly want in, will find and/or create the doors that connect them with the other side.

 

The dream.

 

Success making their art.

 

Sounds absolutely blissful doesn’t it?

 

Proximity ABB

 

Proximity will force you to raise your game.

 

I thought I knew exactly what I was doing as an artist and a guitar player until I got proximity to The Allman Brothers. Once I repeatedly saw them, I knew I had a LOT to learn.

 

 

Sometimes proximity can be lucky, but often it is manifested by the seekers out of sheer will.

 

Let’s look at some examples of each.

 

Proximity Bill GatesBill Gates being the richest man in the world is largely due to luck as Malcolm Gladwell sees it. He was quite literally the right person, in the right, place at the right time. Bill’s mother worked for the University of Washington, which in the 1960’s, was one of only 2 institutions in the United States that housed a supercomputer. Bill being a person fascinated with computing and code writing had access to this amazing machine as early as the 8th grade.

 

This was a story of someone who wanted to and needed to do the work and couldn’t do it without proximity.

 

SIDENOTE: Not surprisingly, the other supercomputer was located at the University of Michigan where Bill Joy went to school and invented the internet.

 

Proximity Bill Joy

 

 

 

 

These two extremely iconic individuals could have had vastly different lives without the luck of proximity to what was then extremely elusive and rare cutting edge technology.

 

 

 

 

Let’s look at some examples of created proximity.

Proximity Matt Warren

 

A good friend of mine and hit songwriter, Matt Warren (he co-wrote the #1 “Every Storm Runs Out of Rain” for Gary Allan) got proximity by selling T-shirts on tour for a merch company called Richards & Southern. He wanted in to the music business and didn’t really care how it happened or what it looked like.

He got the opportunity to tour as a merch person with Gary Allan where he created a relationship with the artist. The story goes that he totally sucked at selling shirts but he could write, the rest is history.

 

 

I have another good friend named Brian Foraker. Google him.

Proximity Whitesnake

 

Brian mixed the hugely famous Whitesnake album (the big one with “Here I Go Again”) which will make him cool in my book forever. Brian ended up being the main engineer for mega producer Keith Olsen (Fleetwood Mac, Whitesnake, Foreigner, Heart, Rick Springfield, Top Gun Soundtrack, Footloose Soundtrack). Brian will tell you he got his start by becoming a roadie for Heart.

 

 

He wanted in.

 

He got in.

 

He worked his way up to where he was allowed to hang in the studio when they were recording.

 

He’ll tell you he shut up and paid serious attention because the studio fascinated him and he wanted in.

 

“Hey Brian, move that mic on the snare drum for me, please”, turned into him engineering which landed him the gig with Keith.

 

Mega record mogul, David Geffen started out very poor working in the mail room at William Morris Agency. Geffen sold his label to MCA in 1990 for $550 Million making him one of the richest people in the country at the time.Proximity Geffen Records Logo

 

I know it’s not about the money, man.

 

But you have to start somewhere.

 

How can you get the proximity you need?

 

Well the internet certainly makes that a lot easier than any of the previously mentioned individuals. Hat tip to Bill Joy.

 

Proximity Book collage

 

Books are another way to see behind the scenes of greatness. They’re a great deal too. Autobiographies, how to books, marketing books, etc., all provide knowledge that you can apply to your own situation.

 

Marketing is connecting with people by applying knowledge of human psychology and using it to your advantage.

 

Yes, some use this knowledge for evil. Like politicians, ALL news outlets, governments, etc.

 

 

Some use it for good.

 

Like you.

Proximity Daniel Stone MEME

Image Credit: Daniel Stone

 

Connecting with people via marketing prowess can feel strangely similar to connecting with people via songwriting.

 

A transcendence of sorts.

 

You struggle with the mysteries of marketing. All the answers are out there dressed up in easily available knowledge and its consequent application.

 

This application of marketing knowledge requires the same effort and tenacity as your art.

 

Proximity can be more easily achieved with social media and the internet than it used to be. Bottom line, if you want in the game you will find a way to get in. Those that offer up excuses as to why they can’t get proximity simply don’t really want it that bad.

 

Proximity Connecting

Artwork by Daniel Stone

Mentors can be found.

 

Mentors won’t find you.

 

 

 

Everybody needs mentorship. Most incredibly high paid corporate CEO’s have mentors to guide their ascension in the ranks and manage a proper perspective once they get there. It’s lonely at the top, and these CEO’s want to excel at managing a great company environment.

 

Too many of you either feel you don’t need mentors or don’t have them because they aren’t coming to you. Many of you feel it’s hard to find an appropriate mentor mostly because they aren’t knocking on your door looking to mentor you.

 

In either one of these scenarios, the damage to you is the same. You have no mentor.

Proximity Success Go Get It MEME

So you have no new perspectives.

 

You have no insight.

 

You have no guidance for new situations, just your old behavior which seems to result in the same outcomes.

 

New outcomes require new behaviors. New behaviors comes from learning, education, advice, someone else’s 20/20 hindsight (which is referred experience isn’t it?), etc. All these things can be found in mentors.

 

Here’s the thing, you need proximity to mentors.

 

Confucius say, “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”

 

Proximity Confucius MEME

 

You have to go to them. Tai Lopez sought out many mentors and worked for them; often for free, if not for free, for peanuts. He wasn’t interested in an immediate payoff for his time, rather he was interested in LEARNING how to be better. The big payoff comes with the knowledge as it WILL monetize later down the road.

 

Many of you eagerly seek out mentors for vocal lessons, instrumental lessons, music classes, mental and relationship advancements via therapy, etc.

 

You go to these people or pay them to come to you. That’s creating proximity.

 

Why not get proximity to the people can help you do what you want to do in the music industry?

Proximity Marketing Lessons Learned

Believe me it takes image, art, talent, strategy, paperwork, good business, and logistics to rise above the fray and be heard.

 

Nobody is born a master of all these talents.

 

They have to be learned by the seekers who won’t take “NO” for an answer.

 

In my case, I have had mentorships come into my life by working with or for other companies, I have sought out and paid for new knowledge as often as I can.

 

 

What’s more valuable than furthering your education?

 

Tai Lopez calls this “doubling down” on yourself.

 

Proximity Equation

 

People love to share their knowledge with people they care about. Just like you they think people they don’t know who are asking tons of deep questions (so therefore don’t care about) are creepy.

 

Proximity solves all this.

 

Now you just have to solve for proximity.

 

 

 

Stay

In

Tune.