Musician Making A Living With Forty Committed True Fans

from the imagine-what-he-can-do-with-1,000 dept

A year and a half ago, we wrote about Kevin Kelly's theory that to be a success as a content creator, you just need 1,000 "true fans." These were the ultra-committed fans. The fans who would follow you to the end of the world and purchase whatever you came out with. And -- more importantly -- they'll help bring more fans into the fold. The point isn't that these are your only fans, but the most committed. At the time, I wasn't sure if the 1,000 number was really accurate, but certainly agreed with the idea of more closely connecting with your biggest fans. My guess was that 1,000 wasn't really enough. But, perhaps I was off in the wrong direction? Ariel Hyatt has been blogging about the concept of 1,000 True Fans and has an interview with musician Matthew Ebel, an up-and-coming musician who makes a living from his music, and breaks down the details -- including pointing out that he makes 26.3% of his net income from just 40 hard-core fans.

Music Sales:

• CD Sales - 4.1%
• Digital Music Sales - 13.9%
• Subscription Site - 36.9%
• Live Shows - 18.1%
• Cover Gig Fees/Cover - 9.8%
• Original Gig Fees/Cover - 6.2%
• Tips (Including UStream) - 2.1%
• Works For Hire & Voiceovers - 8.2%
• Affiliate Sales (typically for my own albums/tracks) - 1.1%
• Licensing - 13.2%
• Independent Film - 6.6%
• Internet - 6.6%
• Web Design - 4.6% (I include this because I'm doing a website for a friend... it's something I choose to do, but it is part of my income this year.)

Now, first thing I'll point out is that I'm still not sure the numbers fully add up. Matthew doesn't give a total amount earned, but in a comment says:

Suffice it to say that I'm renting a house in Wellesley, MA with a couple of room mates... I'm not starving, I can still eat sushi from time to time, and my car (neither a Pinto nor a Bentley) is paid off.

So, he's making a living wage, but not raking it in, which is to be expected (and is certainly a hell of a lot better than many musicians). Now, of course, the other number that stands out above is the "subscription site" with the single largest percentage of his revenue. That would be his MatthewEbel.net site, where he offers a $5/month subscription offering. It actually looks quite a lot like the music business model I suggested back in 2003, so it's nice to see someone making it work directly. Basically, it's people paying for access to Matthew (he even admits that in the description, saying it's like a permanent "backstage pass"). While subscribers will get regular access to new music as soon as he creates it, the selling point is special invitations and access to the artist.

And, of course, Ebel seems to certainly recognize the CwF (connect with fans) part that has to go along with this RtB (reason to buy). In the interview, he discusses the importance of really connecting with those fans. First, he notes that one of the nice side effects of his "subscription" offering is that he promises fans two new songs and one live concert recording every month, and that keeps him top of mind:

Little did I realize that new releases every two weeks would be better than any good album reviews or press coverage. Giving my fans something new to talk about every two weeks meant exactly that: they talk about me every two weeks. They're not buying an album, raving about it, and losing interest after a few months, they're constantly spreading my name to their Twitter followers, coworkers, pets, etc. Regular delivery of quality material is damn near my one-step panacea for the whole industry.

And, of course, he uses social media to connect as much as possible:

Good music is barely enough to get fans to hand out 99¢ anymore; they have to be emotionally invested in the artist if that artist wants their loyalty. Don't get me wrong, there can still be a "fourth wall" during a live concert or video, but real, meaningful connection with the fans is what keeps me in their heads after the show's over (heck, even your "character" can interact with fans in-character). I chat with my fans via Twitter, Facebook, matthewebel.com and matthewebel.net, and as many other channels as possible. The more I interact with them between performances, the more I stay fresh in their minds and the more inspiration I draw from them.

Yet another musicians showing how CwF+RtB works. Now, I'm sure some will complain that this isn't a "real" success because he's not selling out stadiums or something (of course, those are the same people who would say that those selling out stadiums don't count because they can afford to do crazy experiments). But given how many musicians we're hearing about these days making exactly these types of things work to the point where they can make a living doing it, you have to begin to realize that something's working.

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Game Developers Embracing Connecting With True Fans

from the good-for-them dept

JohnForDummies points us to an article in the Wall Street Journal about video game developers who are embracing business models that focus on getting a core group of fans to pay. While the article credits Kevin Kelly's well-known essay on 1,000 True Fans, I have to admit I'm having a little trouble seeing how this is really all that different than the old "shareware" market. While these developers are focused on adding more value for paying subscribers (and are only targeting a small and attainable number of paying users), I still think it's a risky business model to focus on selling anything that can be easily copied. The focus should be on finding real scarcities that can be sold...

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Photographers Testing Innovative Business Models As Well

from the true-fans dept

While we often talk about music and movies as creative endeavors that require new business models, it's true that we don't pay as much attention to photographers -- though, I should say that when photographers do show up in the comments, they're often the most vociferous defenders of traditional copyright (much more than even recording industry guys). That's why it's interesting to see some are testing out new business models as well. John alerts us to the news that a photographer who goes by the name Ctein is running an experiment where he's asking "true fans" to subscribe to his work -- paying $9.50/month for a year. At the end of the year, he'll send them a couple of prints (chosen from a selection offered). It's based on the idea of Kevin Kelly's 1000 True Fans concept, but also seems quite similar to the business model we suggested for musicians back in 2003. I have no clue if this sort of thing will work -- especially as I'm unfamiliar with Ctein's work as a photographer or the photography market. However, it's great to see others experimenting with similar models in other areas. I look forward to seeing how well it goes.

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Another Musician Who Recognizes The Concept Of True Fans

from the flo-rida dept

News.com is running an interview with an up and coming hip hop artist named Flo Rida who appears to clearly grasp the concept of True Fans. When asked if he gets upset about people sharing his music online he says:

"If you're really in touch with your fans on a personal level then you don't have to worry about things like that. A lot of times I make sure I go onto MySpace and holler at my fans, looking at them on YouTube, showing love, making sure that I'm in tune more so on a personal level than just having a hot song...cause these are people who just might want to go to the store to get the album as well as download. These are people who might want to put your poster on the wall or see your (album) art.

The reporter also notes that he used to shout his cell phone number out during concerts. It appears that treating his fans right has its rewards. One of his songs set a record with 13 straight weeks at the top of the charts as the most popular ringtone and he has two Top 10 digital singles on the charts despite the fact his album hasn't even been released yet.

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The Path To Success As A Content Creator: Building Up Your True Fans

from the they'll-pay-for-value dept

Here's a story that follows nicely on our recent post about Trent Reznor quickly selling out his $300 "Ultra-Deluxe" limited edition offering on his new album. As we noted, just because Nine Inch Nails is a recognized act, it doesn't mean that smaller acts can't learn from it as well. Helping to underscore that point is yet another thought piece from Kevin Kelly, talking about the concept of 1000 True Fans. The idea is pretty straight forward: if you want to become a successful content creator, what you really need is 1000 True Fans. In Kelly's estimation, that's the cutoff point where a content creator can make a living. His definition of a True Fan is:

Someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can't wait till you issue your next work. They are true fans.

That appears to be exactly what Reznor has (though, clearly he has a lot more than 1000 at this point). But Kelly then discusses just what you need to do to build up 1000 True Fans. You need to connect with them directly. That means communicating with them. Having a blog, a social network profile, a Twitter account -- whatever. And then using all of them to really connect with the fans. Give out your early content so more and more people have access to it and are more likely to become True Fans. As Kelly points out, for each of the True Fans will be surrounded by Lesser Fans -- some of whom may purchase goods from you, some of whom may not. Some may become True Fans over time and others may not -- but the more True Fans you have, the more True Fans you're likely to gain over time. There's a network effect here. You build up those True Fans and then you give them reasonable reasons to spend money to support you. It's not about gouging them, but offering them something (scarce) of value that they're perfectly willing to pay for.

It's an excellent framework for any content creator getting started. Certainly, you may not be able to build up enough True Fans if the content isn't good enough (or unique enough, in some cases), but you're certainly unlikely to be able to build up those True Fans from scratch by keeping your content locked up and hoping that someone important "discovers" you and makes you a star.

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