Do-it-yourself: There are more ways to the top than one
Friday, October 9th, 2009 by Lucinda M. Dugger
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I remember seeing a Seinfeld episode where Kramer – who was always full of brilliant ideas – decided that he wanted to open a make-your-own-pizza restaurant. When he unveils his concept to Jerry, the look on Jerry’s face is one of awe. He says something to Kramer like, ‘the reason why people get pizza is because there is no work involved. They just order it, and pick it up. Nobody wants to make their own pizza.’
It’s true no one wants to make their own pizza. For a quick lunch, you buy a slice of pizza. For a casual dinner out, you have pizza. For an easy dinner at home, you order pizza.
And yet, more and more for artists the do-it-yourself (DIY) model is touted as the way to go. At the Future of Music Conference this week, there was a fascinating panel dedicated to this topic, among others. I can see why DIY in its most raw form would be appealing to so many people. You have complete control over expression, packaging, marketing, and audience interaction. Musician Erin McKeown, is an avid fan and user of this model. She has produced and reached her fan base with her DIY music videos.
But some artists don’t want to take the time or energy to do all the work themselves. Emily White of Whitesmith Entertainment works with those artists who want to do it themselves, but realize they need help in some areas of promotion or artistic development. Artists come to her with ideas; she helps them figure out exactly what they need, and how she can help them get to where they want to be. This approach may not be for all artists. But for those artists that want to focus more on their artistic creation than marketing, companies like this might be helpful.
Bertis Downs, longtime adviser to R.E.M., talked about the band’s DIY approach. If you know R.E.M. you might be wondering how that famous, money-making band, that has a label, uses DIY. Well, Bertis made it clear that it’s not about label versus no label or money versus no money, but it’s about the approach the band takes to reaching and connecting with its fan base. R.E.M. is always seeking out new models that it can use to promote its music.
Sometimes, it seems, there might be too many choices. But, when trying to weigh your options, keep these few things in mind:
1. Don’t get caught up in the hype. There are many ways to promote yourself, and you have the choice to go DIY or work with a marketing firm or sign with a label. Any one way, or many ways, that gets your work out there and stays true to your core values as an artist is a good way.
2. Sift through the noise. DIY used to be the way for the super genius, the outcast, or the underground. Now it’s the way for most everyone. Because of this, there is a lot more noise in the marketplace. Figure out what noise you need to sift through, and partner with those who can help you do that.
3. Selling doesn’t mean selling-out. Shepard Fairey discussed recently the benefits he has derived from straddling both sides of the fence: the underground and the mainstream. It’s not one versus the other, as many artists think. Just because you make it big in one market doesn’t mean you can’t play in another market. You’ve only sold out if you think you have.
4. Be flexible. Know your long term goal and define paths to get there, but don’t ignore new options. Technology and the marketplace are constantly changing. A strategy that works today may not be the best strategy tomorrow.
5. You define your own success. When will you feel like you’ve become a successful artist? If you sell one album or painting, or if you can live solely off the revenue from your creative energies? Remember that what is successful for one artist is not necessarily the same level of success for another. You make that decision for yourself as to where your success lies.
So, a DIY pizza restaurant may not be the best idea for pizza entrepreneurs. But for an artist entrepreneur, the options are endless.
October 10th, 2009 at 10:38 am
Stimulating article gives good food for thought. I might even go home and make a pizza!lol! At least, the article encourages me to consider how I can work with others and their skills to make the best of mine. Your points open doors of imagination.
October 10th, 2009 at 10:48 am
Hi Lucinda,
Great article and its principles can be applied to authors as well as musicians and artists. Why do we have to be limited to either self-publishing or being published? For me self-publishing certain works while having a publisher for others seems a worthwhile endeavor.
As you state, I love the freedom of expression, marketing as I choose, and dealing more directly with the readers of what I create I get from DIY self-publishing. But in order to be considered a “recognized” author, build a readership in certain areas, be considered award-worthy, and get into the mainstream retailers I also need to be accepted by a publisher. So for now I will be straddling the fence.
October 10th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
I just met a man this morning at City Team who is a very talented start-up musician. He was sharing with me his frustrations of trying to make it in the music industry and all the demands and costs he has to go through to to “get a chance” at touring and recording. When I got back to the office and opened your article, I thought how appropriate and timely this is, so I sent your very informative article to my friend. Your website is useful and practical. Keep up the insightful articles.
October 13th, 2009 at 2:26 am
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October 14th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
Great post, Lucinda. Your readers might also be interested in these two artifacts from the Future of Music Policy Summit:
New Business Models
…and how musicians, labels and songwriters are compensated
http://futureofmusic.org/article/article/new-business-models
And something we’d been thinking about for a while, but are just now getting around to itemizing:
29 Revenue Streams for Musicians
http://futureofmusic.org/blog/2009/10/14/29-streams
October 14th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
DIY music labels, etc; pale against the Majors, but the exhilaration of flying by the seat of your pants - and getting your business model on board is rewarding. After all, whether Major or not - it is the consumer who actually calls the shots on how they buy the music, etc;
October 17th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
New revenue streams for creators of songs and similar content should be backed by the government on behalf of creators because that is in the Constitution. And it shouldn’t require that a creator/writer turn into a merchandiser etc. Reasonable use of statutory rates will work fine in the background and the collective can consist of a democratically administrated group representing the members, industries and entities involved.
As the United States Defense Department moved to enable commercialization of the Internet there were meticulous considerations regarding The Domain Name System and related issues. ICANN, a nonprofit organization contracted by The Department of Commerce led the way in the administration and eventual privatization of the Domain system. By most standards this was an excellent model of transitioning from a government entity to privatization. The foresight in understanding the repercussions of NOT having a plan for Domains going forward is highly commendable.
But ironically, that same foresight was grossly absent in considering the repercussions that public use of the Internet would have upon the U.S. copyright system.
If the Betamax Case was a Supreme Court precedent setting event, what in the world were we thinking by unleashing the Internet without addressing the copyright issues beforehand? The Internet coupled with a personal computer is the most powerful copying and publishing mechanism man has ever known!
Therefore, it was the government’s responsibility to ensure that rights holders’ interests were protected before unleashing the greatest copying and publishing mechanism ever and it was the government’s responsibility to insure that ISP’s, (Internet Service Providers), would be in compliance or they would NOT be issued clearance to be an ISP.
So, it is the government that should help fix this mess on behalf of creators of copyrighted materials which is protected by the Constitution of the U.S. Although our government may have missed this opportunity via the “first edition” Internet they can get it right this time with the “second edition” Internet - Mobile Networks. After all, in time there will be many more Internet transactions done via mobile networks and devices than tethered Internet transactions. Now’s the time to put these measures in place. Can we get some help? DataRevenue.Org has been unsupported in these efforts and its about time we reached out for help from those that are about actions beyond words. Can you hear us now?
March 12th, 2010 at 12:00 pm
[...] do-it-yourself marketing models and other technological tools are embraced by creators who have been plagued [...]