The lights are low as the crowd waits in anticipation. Ticket holders have stood in line for a good
amount of time to see the headliner. No
matter what the weather was earlier in the day or what happened at work, fans
wait with the utmost excitement to see and share an experience with an
artist. Finally, the lights come up and
the curtain opens. The announcer screams
with the same passion the artists name and all the stress and waiting does not
matter anymore. The show has begun! This is my experience at live shows and I
know that I am not alone. This post is
going to look into the impact of live shows.
According to billboard.com,
“Peoples G. (2015) writes, “Acquisitions and steady demand for live music
pushed up Live Nation's revenue, but the promotion and ticketing giant saw its
bottom line fall in 2014. Live Nation's
net loss to shareholders more than doubled to $186.5 million from $82 million
in 2013, as revenue grew 6 percent to $6.87 billion.” The article goes on to say, “the 76 stadium
shows in North America "the strongest driver of fan growth.” North American attendance grew 5.6 percent to
40 million, while the number of concerts increased a milder 2.4 percent.” Therefore, people are going to live music
shows and the demand is consistently growing for these shows. Nevertheless, how does this correlate with
selling units and independent artists?
In my experience as an independent artist that sells units,
it is much easier for me to do this when I create a demand and almost an
impulse for audiences to want to buy.
This strategy has been most effective with the accompaniment of a live
performance. Moreover, most people need
to see what you have got on stage before you can make an impact with them for
digital sales and social media attention.
Nowadays, most independent, or artists just starting up have
seen the light of the “free mix tape.”
Websites like Datpiff.com or hotnewhiphop.com have given these
artists the opportunity of viewership in a large pool of other artists with the
same ambition. If you talk to any
unknown artist, most would say this is a strategy of theirs, but what do the
numbers tell us? There are literally
thousands of mix tapes on Datpiff.com
alone. Nevertheless, there is still
light!
According to musicbizacademy.com,
Knab C. (2001) writes, “As far as a record label is concerned, the sole purpose
of supporting an artist's tour is the strong possibility that sales of the
artist's records will increase. For the
independent musician then, the cardinal rule regarding sales at live shows is
this: Never perform live without setting up a way to sell your CDs. “ This is
the way of a true Jedi! However, there
is a need in today’s music republic to have access to free or streaming
music. My advice to any new or seasoned
independent is, NEVER FORGET THE STAGE!
References:
http://www.mtv.com/artists/jay-z/photos/4252259/
http://www.learn2rap.com/5-mixtape-sites-to-help-push-your-next-mixtape-release/
