Demographics Are Just the Beginning

If you have any business savvy, if you didn’t sleep through your marketing classes in college, then you already know the importance of researching your demographic. What does your typical consumer look like? How old are they? What do they like to wear? Where do they shop? Which TV shows are their favorites? You can bet that the record executives at the major labels ask these questions when they are deciding how to promote an artist or whether to produce a record.Smart bands do this too, especially as they are starting out. Even a completely naïve musician understands that if you play emo rock and the gig turns out to be at a country bar, you could be in for a long and uncomfortable night. Where possible, bands try to book themselves into venues that are popular with the audience they want to reach. They make t-shirts with designs that they think those people will like. They put up posters in the restaurants and stores where those people shop. There is actually a cottage industry of consultants and training programs to help musicians perform demographic research and position their music as a marketable product.But demographic data will only get you so far. Don’t get me wrong! Market research is an important tool and you neglect it at your peril. But you can’t look at a demographic profile as the sum of what you need to know. A demographic is not a person; it is a statistical summary. Numbers aren’t fans, people are. It may help your band decide where your target market hangs out, but once you book the gig, it is up to you to get them to listen. You’ve got to play songs they want to hear! And if you do get their attention, you’ve got to draw them in and hold them; make them want more. You have to instill them with the belief that if they stick with you, there will be more of those songs to come.

Ultimately, you are seeking to trigger a conversion. You want each person who comes into contact with your work to go from being a bystander to being a listener (or a buyer, if you like) to being a fan. - See more at: https://www.marvellessmark.com/MMBlog/#sthash.zJd0ndfB.dpuf