Making money with music is not easy.
Today, most people don’t want to pay for music. Why should they? It is so easy to copy music, I can just find someone else who has it, find it on Spotify, or find a free download somewhere.
I’m hard pressed to find another art form that is pirated as easily as music. Visual art is not often printed from a computer, framed, and hung above the mantle. It isn’t uploaded to a digital picture frame and hung in the living room. A professional print is purchased. An original is bought from the artist.
Musicians are trying to figure out how to make money at this craft. It is becoming increasingly difficult. The latest avenue we are going to be attempting is Internet-broadcast concerts from our home.
It sounds a little weird, but think about it: you buy a digital ticket to a virtual concert with 20 other fans. You get to watch the concert from the comfort of your own home, in your pajamas, not having to pay for a baby-sitter, no parking fees, no long drive home. Not only that, but you also get to interact with the artist by way of a chat feature.
In exchange for this cool “virtually intimate” venue, the fan has the option to tip the artist on top of the ticket price. No need to carry cash, either!
It’s a really cool idea that we will be trying soon. The difficult part will be getting the general public to warm to the idea, buy in, and buy a ticket. I hope this works – it makes a whole lot of sense for both artist and fan.
Here’s to making 2015 the year of the artist – the year that revenue streams are discovered. Happy New Year, world.
Bradley Minnigan 