The rise and popularity of digital media has certainly caused a lot of changes in various aspects of our lives today, but one area which has been changed dramatically is the music industry, and how people now buy music. Files can be exchanged so easily. It is no longer as simple to keep music from those who have not actually ventured into a record store and purchased a physical disc. This is understandably why big corporate record labels and some mega star artists are losing so much money.
In reality, perhaps not so many would shed a tear for the fact that these people are no longer cashing in as much as they previously had. However, the fact that the way in which the music industry once functioned is quickly becoming obsolete, clearly indicates that there is a need for a new process, and there is one woman out there who just might have has the precise remedy.
The Alternative Method's of Amanda Palmer
Amanda Palmer, a solo singer/songwriter and front woman of the two-piece punk cabaret band The Dresden Dolls, has for some time been suggesting that the music industry is in need of a face lift in her blog. However, recently she has been speaking in more depth about her ideas and how artists could earn a living without the necessity of being signed on a major label. And indeed, Amanda has not only been paying lip service to the need for change, she has in fact been putting her ideas into action and testing things out with her own fans.
One of Amanda's main priorities is developing a close relationship with her cult following, she is particularly accessible to her fans, reading and responding to questions and comments on MySpace, and the newly popular vehicle that is Twitter. Not to mention organising free all ages gatherings with fans in public spaces.
Of course, responding to questions and having free fan gatherings is not going to make an artist any money. However, it is these kinds of things that create a rapport and a certain level of trust and intimacy between an artist and their fans, which will in turn lead to loyalty, and therefore profit, since these fans who have come to love an artist will then go and buy their records and merchandise and pay to see them play gigs.
On the subject of gigs, Amanda Palmer also has her own theory on how they should be organised, she suggests that instead of fans having to buy tickets, they will instead be asked to donate at the door, facilitating those with less money. The wealthier will be able to contribute more, while the poorer can give whatever they can afford and still be able to see the artist play live.
How Amanda Made $19,000 Dollars via Twitter
In her blog, Palmer demonstrates how she made absolutely nothing from her solo album, produced by Ben Folds which sold 30,000 copies, while she managed to earn herself $19,000 over a couple of days via Twitter, she made $11,000 selling T-Shirts which she designed herself, $6000 by holding a webcast auction from her apartment selling off random things she owned, and $1800 by holding a donation-only gig for 200 people, which she announced on Twitter.
It is clear that Amanda's innovative ideas are paying off and most definitely could be used by already established artists who have grown disenchanted with the mainstream music industry as a new way to earn a crust. Perhaps it is true, as Amanda has pondered, that the age of the mega star is dead, and that those who write and perform music will now need to practice a much more down to earth method of making a living
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