💡✍️ADN #075: Infinite Audience

Hey Friends -

Last week, we conducted a deep dive into concert revenue, exploring everyday line items for earnings and expenses at a club-level concert.

You can re-read last week’s newsletter here if you want to refresh.

Today, I want to share some thoughts on building your audience online.

Let’s go — ->

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I’ve played nearly 3,000 shows in the past 20+ years of touring.

The road has been long and good to me.

When I started touring, the internet was in its infancy.

There was no social media.

The websites were slow, and radio or television were the best ways to reach a large audience.

I know this makes me sound old, but I’m only 42 :)

Today, there are 8.1 billion people on planet earth.

5.35 billion use the internet.

Globally, 1.1 billion people use TikTok every month.

1.4 billion will use Instagram in 2024.

To many artists, the internet and social media are a struggle.

To me, they are an opportunity.

Every day, you have a free place to connect with new people.

Fans come in all forms these days.

There are the die-hard, old-school who want to travel to every concert kind.

Some like to stay at home and stream your music on repeat from their kitchen.

And there are all kinds in between.

In the past, word of mouth happened in person or other analog forms, like hanging posters on walls to promote shows and new music.

These days, we all have free digital real estate at our fingertips.

If you have a phone, an internet connection, and an idea, you can share it with the world just like anyone else.

The playing field is level.

You don’t need millions in marketing money to make fans.

You need to release your music into the world consistently and do so with intention and honesty.

You can share your music on social media daily without spending your days on it.

If you’re a great singer, then sing!

If you’re a great guitar player, then play!

I’d be willing to bet you are already doing the thing that the internet will find interesting.

You just have to hit record while doing it and be willing to put it into the world.

There are artists with hundreds of thousands of social media followers and millions of monthly listeners on DSPs who have never gone on tour.

When they do, they will have to prove themselves all over again in venues to their fans, but they will have fans in venues.

There may not be hundreds of thousands, but there will probably be hundreds or thousands, and that is all you need to make a living as an artist in the music industry.

• Pick a platform you enjoy
• Post daily
• Collaborate with other artists
• Engage with other users on the platform

This is the path to making fans on social media.

And here is the thing…

It’s not that different than making fans at a concert.

• Pick the place you want to play
• Do it as often as possible
• Collaborate with other artists
• Engage with the audience.

This is the path to making fans at your concerts.

Social media is a free megaphone to the audience you want.

Don’t be afraid to use it.

For tips on how to pre-schedule your social media, check out this article.

See you next Sunday!

Neil Mason

Artist Development

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