Challenges faced in the music industry by music labels and managers
In 2018, global music sales generated $19 billion, according to IFPI.
But even with this success, the music industry is still struggling, specifically the independent part of it. These issues aren’t subjected to indie bands and music artists necessarily as well — the respective labels and management companies are also facing a new share of problems that this changing industry is causing too. If you own an indie label or management company, rest assured that you are not the only one struggling. Other indie music industry professionals and enduring the same problems that you are. Fortunately, Show4me music network offers a solution, which can benefit every participant that is looking for help under these unexpected and constantly changing circumstances.
Do you want to know more? Well, here are some of the main and common problems that indie music industry professionals face and why you should utilize Show4me’s network if you truly want to create a successful and stable career in this business field:
Difficulty promoting unknown artists
97 million songs exist in the world and that number continues to rise. You can imagine how many bands and music artists exist — unfortunately, only a small number make it to the top. That’s because promoting an unknown artist is extremely difficult. As a label or management firm owner, you understand the feeling of promoting an artist from scratch. You listen to their music, you see their live show, and you see the potential in this act. Unfortunately, no one else agrees and you end of losing time and money on your marketing initiatives. The best course of action is to focus not only on the artist’s music and live show, but also their following and what they are doing and have done to gain fans and extend the reach of their activity. You can do this by looking at their social media, past show attendances, any past touring, album sales, music streams, and merch sales.
Now, Show4me makes this research easier than ever. You can view how many fans an unsigned artist has and how these fans interact with the artist. You can develop a clear, demographic audience profile, outlining the characteristics of the people that tend to interact with a given product and implement it towards every single aspect of a respective career. And yes, this is actually as important and as promising for the development of a music business participant as it sounds.
Lack of funds
While tech introduced more opportunities for the music industry, it also introduced more pitfalls. Streaming dominates, causing album and vinyl sales to drop. In addition, fake streams are causing artists and labels to lose $300 million in potential revenue. As an indie label or management company, lack of funds affects many aspects of your job. It’s becoming more difficult and expensive to record, distribute physical copies of music, fund artwork, afford marketing, and merchandise.
Both artist and touring managers deal with the same difficulties. Lack of funds affects touring, traveling for press and conventions, and marketing as well, on top of everything else.
What’s the solution?
Whether you are an indie label, Show4me helps you see if an artist is worth your investments. You can upload their profile and music and can see how many fans they generate. The more fans they generate, the more money they raise. This way, a label is not risking its own funds. You can use the funds raised from your artists’ fans on Show4me and use them to finance the artists’ tours and recordings. Self-sufficiency in its finest form, what’s better than that, honestly?
No guaranteed ROI
Referring to the previous point, lack of funds relates to the no guaranteed ROI.
First, the cost of recording isn’t getting cheaper. Let’s say your indie label signed a new band and you are recording their debut album and set their budget at $3 500 a song. If the album has 10 songs, you’re paying $35 000 to record, mix, and master the album. And that doesn’t include paying for the artwork, the distribution costs, and promoting the album, which is a whole another operation. Recording the album is only the beginning. You also have to weigh out touring expenses, paying to promote the tour, any artwork and marketing materials, and paying the crew. If the artist is brand new, you will have to set their guarantees lower to ensure promoters will give them a chance. Even if they do, there’s no guarantee the band will draw a crowd.
Challenges faced in the music industry: Show4me can help
There are many challenges faced in the music industry.
Fortunately, Show4me gives you a solution to gain more funds and promote your artists in a new, unconventional way.
