03
5
2008
Developing 1000 “True Fans”
I just read a well thought out article that should be of interest to aspiring artists of all shapes and sizes. The article offers up a condition for creating a sustainable flow of income and provides a few ideas on how to reach that goal.
One solution is to find 1,000 True Fans. While some artists have discovered this path without calling it that, I think it is worth trying to formalize. The gist of 1,000 True Fans can be stated simply:
A creator, such as an artist, musician, photographer, craftsperson, performer, animator, designer, videomaker, or author – in other words, anyone producing works of art – needs to acquire only 1,000 True Fans to make a living.
Click HERE to read the entire article.
David,
You are right on target.
Satisfied customers/fans is the core base of whatever you do.
It is more cost effective to service your base than to reach out to new unknown customer/fan.
You find offering a quality product will find going beyond 1000 base into a growing situation.
Its only makes good business “cents.”
Very good point from a business standpoint, but what makes gospel music different is the fact that our entire goal is to reach as many people as possible. We may be making a living on a steady fan base, but if we let our ministry settle on those 1000, we are, in a way, abandoning our mission.
It’s a conflict of interest that’s been going on for years.
[...] has been a slow news day so far (what can I say–it’s 6:30 AM!), so I’ll follow David Bruce Murray’s lead and post a link to this fascinating article. Executive summary: This article makes the case that an [...]
GospelMusicFan, what do you do as your fan base which the majority is senior citizens starts dying off? Morbid thought but it’s fact…we are all dying!
I think the assumption in the article that each of the 1,000 fans could spend $100 toward you or your product per year is inflated in regards to Southern Gospel music. Most big-name groups only record once every 12 to 18 months. A lot of lesser-knowns will record once every 2-3 years. With all the free concerts in churches today, even for the big-time groups, I just don’t see the average Joe fan who loves Gold City spending $100 per year. After that initial purchase of your favorite CDs and DVDs, the available product “well” dries up rather quickly.
Good question.
Just keep on doing the right and your base will still be growing beyond the 1000.
Southern gospel music is not the only segment of society facing that reality.
While I was doing political consulting, I ask a political figure in office for 30 years if he will be running for re-election.
The reply was that he would have to start campaigning in the cemeteries because time was marching on.
Trent,
There are other options for a Southern Gospel artist to create products beyond the one major label release every 12 to 18 months.
One example is the Song Of The Month, which the Dove Brothers are toying with right now. A fan pays an annual fee in order to get those recordings. These are going to be tracks that were recorded “on the cheap,” I imagine, but they’re making a point not to record any songs for this that they’ve recorded in the past. So there’s a unique factor to this in that you can’t buy the songs any other way.
Another product option is DVDs of live concerts. We don’t see too many of those.
Another product that is virtually no cost to produce is authorized “bootlegs.” There are royalties to be paid, sure, but fans who collect bootlegs don’t care about graphic design…some will even design their own covers. I know some secular artists will collect money in advance to seed the expense of making a fairly cheap concert recording, which in turn is traded among the not-quite-true fans who might become True Fans in the future. I’m not aware of any Southern Gospel artists who have ever tried this approach, but it sure worked for the Grateful Dead.
Another is making sure every song you’ve ever recorded is available for purchase on your website in some form or another. Once a fan reaches that True Fan level, they’re going to want to go back and complete their collection.
Another is non-music items such as T-shirts, photos, etc. that have the artist’s name.
[...] For my previous article on this topic, click HERE. [...]
[...] very concept was discussed fairly at length.   It also hearkens back to something that DBM had posted a while back about the concept of 1000 True Fans. I think this is a great way for artists to [...]