Comments on: Extending Your Reach: Investing in the Music Business Part IV http://pinkygonzales.com/blog/extending-your-reach-investing-in-the-music-business-part-iv/ FTW Wed, 14 Dec 2011 19:48:28 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Peter Kohan http://pinkygonzales.com/blog/extending-your-reach-investing-in-the-music-business-part-iv/comment-page-1/#comment-152 Peter Kohan Wed, 14 Jul 2010 01:48:28 +0000 http://pinkygonzales.com/?p=874#comment-152 One other thing - it is so easy for bands and fans to create and customize their own merch on sites like Cafepress and Zazzle. Involve the fans - provide them with the ability to develop cool merch for you. Have the artist tout particular items. There are artists whose merch sales alone help provide stability to an otherwise fluctuating market value based on the touring and release/radio cycle. Look at a band like Iron Maiden - never a radio staple. Not terribly videogenic. But they had artist Derek Riggs, who created for the band a signature mascot - Eddie - who has adorned all Iron Maiden album and single art and all merch for over 30 years. Eddie's entrance onstage in every concert is a Maiden staple eagerly awaited by their fans. Iron Maiden the band has endured and thrived on a global basis with little of the drama surrounding many acts with global followings. While you may loathe Gene Simmons personally KISS is another act who has thrived via a wide-ranging merchandising strategy. Not every act can create that: a singular, unique logo or visual element outside of themselves that fans can relate to. Mariah Carey has her butterfly. RUN-DMC had the hats and the Adidas sneakers. These days social networking allows for fan ownership and involvement. Make their creative involvement the commemorative event to drive merch sales. One other thing – it is so easy for bands and fans to create and customize their own merch on sites like Cafepress and Zazzle. Involve the fans – provide them with the ability to develop cool merch for you. Have the artist tout particular items. There are artists whose merch sales alone help provide stability to an otherwise fluctuating market value based on the touring and release/radio cycle.

Look at a band like Iron Maiden – never a radio staple. Not terribly videogenic. But they had artist Derek Riggs, who created for the band a signature mascot – Eddie – who has adorned all Iron Maiden album and single art and all merch for over 30 years. Eddie’s entrance onstage in every concert is a Maiden staple eagerly awaited by their fans. Iron Maiden the band has endured and thrived on a global basis with little of the drama surrounding many acts with global followings. While you may loathe Gene Simmons personally KISS is another act who has thrived via a wide-ranging merchandising strategy.

Not every act can create that: a singular, unique logo or visual element outside of themselves that fans can relate to. Mariah Carey has her butterfly. RUN-DMC had the hats and the Adidas sneakers.

These days social networking allows for fan ownership and involvement. Make their creative involvement the commemorative event to drive merch sales.

]]> By: Jason Fandrich http://pinkygonzales.com/blog/extending-your-reach-investing-in-the-music-business-part-iv/comment-page-1/#comment-132 Jason Fandrich Tue, 06 Jul 2010 01:01:56 +0000 http://pinkygonzales.com/?p=874#comment-132 Yes Yes Yes and Yes.... Yes Yes Yes and Yes….

]]> By: Kevin Jennings http://pinkygonzales.com/blog/extending-your-reach-investing-in-the-music-business-part-iv/comment-page-1/#comment-125 Kevin Jennings Wed, 30 Jun 2010 12:35:48 +0000 http://pinkygonzales.com/?p=874#comment-125 Great post! I'm only bothered by the fact that the music business struggles to operate like a *business*. What your explaining is creative and savvy, but should it be? In business, you're supposed to evolve to the needs and desires of the market. This is why I struggle with even listening to an artist manager describe their job as handling "all the business so the musicians can just be 'artists'." Even as a venture capitalist, you evaluate the market for that product before investing. If record sales suck, maybe an alternative form of distribution or different approach would a wise choice. I guess my question is who's responsible for keeping up with technological advances or the desires of the market? Until this point, it seems like it's Apple, YouTube, the blogs, Rhapsody, etc. Great post! I’m only bothered by the fact that the music business struggles to operate like a *business*. What your explaining is creative and savvy, but should it be?

In business, you’re supposed to evolve to the needs and desires of the market. This is why I struggle with even listening to an artist manager describe their job as handling “all the business so the musicians can just be ‘artists’.”

Even as a venture capitalist, you evaluate the market for that product before investing. If record sales suck, maybe an alternative form of distribution or different approach would a wise choice.

I guess my question is who’s responsible for keeping up with technological advances or the desires of the market? Until this point, it seems like it’s Apple, YouTube, the blogs, Rhapsody, etc.

]]> By: Taylor Trask http://pinkygonzales.com/blog/extending-your-reach-investing-in-the-music-business-part-iv/comment-page-1/#comment-124 Taylor Trask Wed, 30 Jun 2010 02:29:45 +0000 http://pinkygonzales.com/?p=874#comment-124 "I was mistaking tour T-shirts for fashion. I was assuming that our sales were driven by a fan’s desire to dress themselves in the artist’s image, when in fact most of them just wanted a momento from the show." Your original hypothesis wasn't wrong either... “I was mistaking tour T-shirts for fashion. I was assuming that our sales were driven by a fan’s desire to dress themselves in the artist’s image, when in fact most of them just wanted a momento from the show.”

Your original hypothesis wasn’t wrong either…

]]> By: Chris Allen http://pinkygonzales.com/blog/extending-your-reach-investing-in-the-music-business-part-iv/comment-page-1/#comment-123 Chris Allen Wed, 30 Jun 2010 02:18:21 +0000 http://pinkygonzales.com/?p=874#comment-123 Really enjoying this series. I’ve heard there are 15,000 new songs entering the market every week. If so it appears to me that there’s more opportunity now than ever before. That is if you have the right scalable model that can engage an enormous audience. Maybe the hysteria should be more about how “the sky is the limit” rather than “the sky is falling”. Anxious to hear your thoughts on the increasing importance of social media in this industry. Really enjoying this series. I’ve heard there are 15,000 new songs entering the market every week. If so it appears to me that there’s more opportunity now than ever before. That is if you have the right scalable model that can engage an enormous audience. Maybe the hysteria should be more about how “the sky is the limit” rather than “the sky is falling”. Anxious to hear your thoughts on the increasing importance of social media in this industry.

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