How do you know when you and your product are really marketable?

[Giorgi]

I know that this was discussed around alot, but I havent found anything that was explicitly dealing with whats EXACTLY marketable. Everyone knows that his musical, artistical act should be marketable, but except for following trends I dont see anything that defines marketable

[bostonwal]

Forget "marketable" just think "engaging." Do you have engaging melodies and arrangements? Is the vocalist absolutely fantastic with engaging vocal lines and phrasing? If the vocalist is less than absolutely fantastic then it's not going to be engaging enough and certainly not "marketable." In addition there is the quote in my signature.

[BlueStrat]

When people are willing to pay for it.

[bostonwal]

 

When people are willing to pay for it.

 

 

And people are willing to pay for it when they've connected emotionally with the music. People also want to connect with the image of the band/performer but it seems like people are receptive to the image of the band if the music hits them. For example, I didn't need to see a pic of The Killers to know I liked them. However, I'm sure the fact that I heard so much about them from friends and the radio primed me to assume they were "cool."

[BlueStrat]

 

And people are willing to pay for it when they've connected emotionally with the music.

 

 

Indeed.

[Matximus]

Try and sell it. If you make money, you have a marketable product. And that means anything - book a show and get paid for it. You're marketable. Sell some CDs. Whatever. If you make a record and you can't get shows or peddle a CD, than your stuff ain't marketable.

[Kramerguy]

it's not really that simple, if I can sell two CD's at a coffee shop, that doesn't exactly make me marketable, it might just make me a decent salesman...

 

But to the OP - It all really boils down to objectivity and perception. Do you have an "IT" factor? Is it self-perceived or are people falling over themselves to tell you that?

[Giorgi]

The "IT" factor is what I wanted to hear from you guys :] but thanks it has been helpful

[bostonwal]

 

but thanks it has been helpful

 

 

Your music needs an "IT" factor. These conversations always get into so much non-musical territory that sometimes people start thinking cynically that music has nothing to do with it.

 

If you want to know what "marketable" is then listen to the radio, look at the Billboard charts, look at who is touring this summer. Those bands are by definition marketable. Make music that is in those genres with vocalists that are of the quality of those bands/performers and you'll have a chance. If you're asking how to "beat the system" and sell millions without being in those genres with those vocalists, well, you can't.

[Kramerguy]

Do you have an "IT" factor? Is it self-perceived or are people falling over themselves to tell you that?

 

[bostonwal]

eh??

 

+1

[Roy Brooks]

When I record something and listen back to it I ask myself do I like it or not and does it sound good to me. If I like it and it sounds good to me I might put it on a CD and try to sell it. Or if not I just try again.

[cyberwolf]

Certainly, producing a professional LOOKING and SOUNDING and PACKAGED "product" is a wise step. The days of magic-marker covered CDR's making any type of impression outside of "garage band material" are probably gone (along with the blank XDR cassette with handwritten songs on the tape!)

 

This is the process I work from, and being a graphic artist certainly gives me some interesting insight into the manner of treating ones own project/product in a professional manner.

 

Again, this is probably somewhat subjective, but treating it as a professional, label-worthy release, is a good step to take.

 

The opinions of friends, family and pets, is probably not advised on my end, but definitely maybe some input from "respected" peers might work to your advantage.

[Scafeets]

BlueStrat nailed it when he said "when people are willing to pay for it." To amplify on that, let's agree that there are different markets and market sizes.

My band is marketable as a bar/wedding/corporate band. If we wanted a record deal we would not be marketable because we don't have enough quality original songs, we're not young and pretty enough and we have absolutely no drive to get ground up in that business.

Being a drop-dead georgeous 17 year-old blond chick with a six figure development deal and a team of pros is marketable on many levels.

Being a great looking person with major talent and no ambition or connections is not marketable.

Good songs = marketable.

Good songs + drug habit, asshole manager or former failed record deal? Not marketable.

Great looks and voice with crappy band? Marketable.

Great band and lousy lead vocals and/or looks? Semi-marketable.

Crappy band managed by the same manager as a big successful band? Semi-marketable.

Nephew of Clive, Tony or Seymour? Marketable.

Girlfriend/boyfriend of Clive, Tony or Seymour? Definitely marketable.

Get the picture?

[Roy Brooks]

Many of you might really enjoy a book by Dr. Eugene Chadbourne called I Hate The Man Who Runs This Bar, one of the best books I have ever read and some of the best advice I have ever read about making a living playing music on one's own terms. There is a chapter about what this thread is about. Eugene Chadbourne's music is not really "marketable" by most people's definition. But I know who he is. And every time I find a record by him I have to get it. I know there will be good music inside. Many of his CD jackets are made out of old envelopes with pictures glued to them. He sells them. I have seen other people besides myself buy them.

 

Not everybody makes pop, rock, or country music with mass appeal in mind. Some folks just make the music they make and play their music for the sort of cats who search that stuff out. Your average music consumer who buys their stuff at Wal-Mart or downloads from iTunes may not know about this stuff. They might not even like it. But there are cats like me in every metropolitan area who actively search out music that is far from the mainstream. And when you get into music that is way out of the mainstream you are generally talking about much fewer record sales. And you find more interesting ways of packaging music that is much different from the ways most people do it.

 

Straight up, I know that the music I generally record is not going to be accepted by the average music consumer. I know that I will not sell even a hundred copies if that. When I make a CD I make a few copies at a time, ten or fifteen. I package them myself with things I have around the house. I draw pictures. I use Glue Stick. I use scissors. I create contraptions out of card stock. And I generally sell the CDs I make. If I was to order fifty or more CDs from somewhere that packages CDs I would not sell all of them and they would be taking up room in my basement.

 

I am definitely not against using a CD packaging service to have CDs I make packaged. But I have not recorded anything that I think would sell enough to do that. When I find myself at a point that I need to I will.

[smallbutmighty]

 

When people are willing to pay for it.

 

 

Bingo.

 

There is no other answer, except to modify it to say "When people do pay for it."

[richardmac]

 

Bingo. There is no other answer, except to modify it to say "When people do pay for it."

 

 

Yes, I'd agree with that. But we must also acknowledge that without proper advertising and marketing (which could be as simple as knowing what gigs to choose,) you won't get a true representation of how marketable your music really is.

[Brad S.]

I think one aspect that is missed when attempting to become marketable is KNOWING WHAT YOUR MARKET'S NEEDS & DESIRES ARE!!!

 

I'm not an expert in marketing but one thing I do know is that its important to know what your markets 'NEEDS' are. Once you have a good idea of what their needs are, you can position yourself and your product to meet those needs!!

 

it amazes me sometimes when people buy {censored} that doesn't seem very 'marketable'. Why does that happen? Well, the product they're purchasing must fill a need and whoever is selling that item was able to position their product in such a way that made people feel like the product would fulfill their needs.

 

How do you find out what your markets needs and desires are??? Market research and testing of course!

 

Find about 10 or so people that you believe are part of your 'TARGET MARKET'. Send them a list of questions and see what kind of responses you get. It's always interesting to find out what people REALLY think!!!

[cyberwolf]

 

it amazes me sometimes when people buy {censored} that doesn't seem very 'marketable'. Why does that happen? Well, the product they're purchasing must fill a need and whoever is selling that item was able to position their product in such a way that made people feel like the product would fulfill their needs.

 

 

Not sure if I agree with that statement. No one really NEEDS music, at least not to survive. Not everything has an immediate effect on people, and that certainly is the case I find with my music. I think it's more a question of forfilling YOURSELF and creating a professional "product". Show you are professional, and people will at least perceive you to be professional. Perception is a large part of the marketing battle. That said... And certain genres of music (ie: in my case, progressive rock/metal) haven't really ever been considered "popular" per se, so that's a question I never ask myself. Prog has never been 'marketable' either, but certainly there are things one can and should do to make it more "marketable" as long as you aren't compromising your artistic integrity or selling your dog for Ramen dinners. ;-)

[richardmac]

Interesting. Positioning your product to meet needs does not much sound like making the music I want to make.

 

The way I approach songwriting, I write what I want to write. Then I decide if I think it's good enough to record. If it is, I record it and it comes out one day on a CD.

 

In terms of marketing, my approach has been to stumble around cluelessly, read Internet forums like this one, and hopefully one day come up with some type of plan that will get people likely to enjoy my music to listen to it.

 

See, I know what I want to do - I want to find people who like my brand of nerd 80's pop rock, get them to give my music a listen, and then either get them out to a show or get them to download my music.

 

So I think it's important to know the demographics of the people who are likely to like your music. So I agree with that part of the whole marketing thing. Of course, there will be anomalies - the 15 year old kid that likes a love song I wrote. But the biggest bang for the buck is in finding out that group, then finding ways to advertise to them. Personally, I'm still working on the advertising part.

[Roy Brooks]

I reckon my guitar playing is marketable because other musicians hire me to play with them.

[bostonwal]

 

Interesting. Positioning your product to meet needs does not much sound like making the music I want to make . The way I approach songwriting, I write what I want to write. Then I decide if I think it's good enough to record. If it is, I record it and it comes out one day on a CD. In terms of marketing, my approach has been to stumble around cluelessly, read Internet forums like this one, and hopefully one day come up with some type of plan that will get people likely to enjoy my music to listen to it. See, I know what I want to do - I want to find people who like my brand of nerd 80's pop rock, get them to give my music a listen, and then either get them out to a show or get them to download my music. So I think it's important to know the demographics of the people who are likely to like your music. So I agree with that part of the whole marketing thing. Of course, there will be anomalies - the 15 year old kid that likes a love song I wrote. But the biggest bang for the buck is in finding out that group, then finding ways to advertise to them. Personally, I'm still working on the advertising part.

 

 

You've just described "Positioning your product to meet needs." I think the issue here is that you need to make the music you love and then find the market for it (position it) vs finding a market and trying to make music for that market. Some people can do that but 99% of us would do better just writing what "comes from the heart" and then trying to position that for the people that would find it of value.

 

For example, Country music is big business. But me trying to make money in that genre is a complete waste of my time since I like writing a completely different sound.

[richardmac]

 

You've just described "Positioning your product to meet needs" is exactly what you described. I think the issue here is that you need to make the music you love and then find the market for it (position it) vs finding a market and trying to make music for that market. Some people can do that but 99% of us would do better just writing what "comes from the heart" and then trying to position that for the people that would find it of value. For example, Country music is big business. But me trying to make money in that genre is a complete waste of my time since I like writing a completely different sound.

 

 

Yeah, you're right. I was trying to get at the exact same point you just made. That's exactly what I do, and what I think most people should do, like you said... write what you want to write, then find a market for it.

[tim_7string]

 

You've just described "Positioning your product to meet needs" is exactly what you described. I think the issue here is that you need to make the music you love and then find the market for it (position it) vs finding a market and trying to make music for that market. Some people can do that but 99% of us would do better just writing what "comes from the heart" and then trying to position that for the people that would find it of value. For example, Country music is big business. But me trying to make money in that genre is a complete waste of my time since I like writing a completely different sound.

 

 

I come from this same line of thinking. I remember reading about Metallica 20 years ago when they were just beginning to get some mainstream success (the "One" video, Grammy nomination). They said they did what they wanted to do and it was more satisfying to see their audience gradually grow larger, rather than selling out with some fad of the moment look/sound, getting a big album, then disappearing when it died down. I took that to heart and approach music the same way, even on my much smaller level. I want to play music that I enjoy and hopefully get paid for it too.

[Gigmaster]

You'll know when someone buys it.....

 

 

I know that this was discussed around alot, but I havent found anything that was explicitly dealing with whats EXACTLY marketable. Everyone knows that his musical, artistical act should be marketable, but except for following trends I dont see anything that defines marketable