Winning at the Music Biz in 2008

I can't tell you how many times in the last month I've had a conversation with people along the lines of just how different the feel of the music world is this fall. CBC Radio 2 has eliminated most of their classical music, fewer and fewer people are buying CDs, federal government support for the arts in Canada is waning, opera companies no longer hold auditions the way they used to, the US economy continues to be weak, film production in Toronto is stalled--the list goes on and on. It's getting more and more difficult to get a feel for creating a path to success in today's arts climate.

But fret no longer. Music Business Consultant Kavit Haria has just created a valuable tool for successfully leveraging today's arts climate in How To Design A Winning And Productive Music Business, a free ebook available from Inner Rhythm. After leaving your name and email, you can either view the book online or download it.

The sections of Kavit's ebook are on subjects such as leadership, dreaming, strategy, business plans, marketing, and non-conformity. The following quote is from the section entitled "Marketing Today Is About Creating Tribes":

People join tribes for different reasons. For driving, Volkswagen, Ferrari, Ford or any other. For reading, Amazon. For music downloads, iTunes. For computing, Dell or Microsoft. For personal computing, Apple. For sports, Nike. For independent artists, CD Baby.

These brands create tribes. Following. Dedicated ambassadors.

To understand the art of creating tribes, we must first understand what a brand is.

A brand is not a logo. A brand is not your music. A brand is not an identity (your band name, your artist name, etc)

A brand is what one feels about you. It is not what a company, market or media designs you to be.

In other words, it is not what you say it is. It is what they say it is.

Creating tribes is all about building trust. People buy into what they trust. It is about a person’s gut feeling and this is what your true brand is. An independent musician’s brand is not developed by flowery artwork, sales pitches and logos. It is developed by good music, good conversation and good engagement.

What are your thoughts on Kavit's ebook in relation to the classical music field?