Over the holidays, my husband was trying to figure out what gift to buy me. He always focuses on music because he knows of my love of music and working with artists on their brands. He said he was overwhelmed by the tons of music offerings and tools available today. He ended up buying me a completely different gift not even related to the music industry. With so many artists and consumer options, how is marketing in the music industry possible and what challenges will you face in 2019?
 
I’m sure you’ve already faced this question for yourself. I’m sure you’ve reached some conclusions on your own, as a result. Based on my expertise, here are the top 3 challenges I’ve found and ideas to overcome them in 2019:
 

1. Who am I? Every artist is forced to reckon with the question of who you are for one reason or another. If for no other reason than people like me are asking this question all the time because we are working on being able to message your brand and art out clearly to establish your influence and fan base. Maybe this is too deep a question. Maybe it hurts to think about it too much. I get it. I’ve been there. In this blog, I give some insights into this topic more. The biggest reason artists fail is that they are not sure of who they are. They allow others to answer this question for them. They lose control. As a result, everything else related to marketing their music is inconsistent and more random than it should be. There’s no clarity and no solid fan base development. So perhaps consider sitting down and writing your autobiography from the first memory you have as a child. I have all my clients go through this amazing exercise. It’s simple and not always easy. It works wonders.

2. Why bother? With so many outlets for music and so much saturation of this beautiful market, it’s easy to feel like you want to give up. Some days it may even feel like doing anything would be easier than being an artist and marketing in the music industry. You can’t let this be the reason you give up. If you truly know who you are (see #1 above), then you can simply move on with answering “why” you choose to be an artist for a living. Perhaps consider these questions: What about your music serves the world? Why? Why are our lives made better by your music?

3. Who can I trust? It’s so hard to know who to trust as you work to market your music in 2019. It may feel like everyone is your competition, so why would they want to support you? This may especially be the feeling you have if you haven’t answered question #1 and #2 above. There are bad actors in any industry that leave us doubting others and making us feel very alone. Despite the bad actors in the music industry, there are plenty of people you can trust. Who? Where? Perhaps consider what your gut tells you. Who feels trustworthy to you? Who seems to have a sense of fairness and harmony to them? Who sincerely is your biggest fan? There are plenty of good consultants out there that care. I know. I care.

Need more support? Download this guide and learn more. I’m your biggest fan. You’ve got this. Remember, courageous brands win.
 

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