Whether you are new to the scene or an old pro, one thing we can all agree on is that new talent is the lifeblood of the music industry.
New artists and music producers must come along to push the boundaries and forge ahead with sounds the world has never heard before. That is how the industry evolves.
Another thing we can all agree on is that it is HARD to achieve long-term business success as a recording artist. Even major labels often fail to get artists off the ground, and the vast majority of modern artists will never have the up-front investment of support, expertise, and money they would get from a good record deal.
So the modern recording artist is left trying to be the label, publisher, promoter, and often producer of their own music.
HOME exists to completely rethink that problem from the ground up… to provide the world’s most comprehensive artist development solution.
We can’t make it easy to succeed, but we can make it easier for you to understand what the steps to success look like.
As a HOME Member, you are surrounded by others across all levels of career growth who are more than willing to share their experience and offer support.
It is in the best interest of everyone in the music industry to encourage the development and entry of new artists… but we neglect to focus enough energy and resources on the process of nurturing new talent.
Why is it this way? How did we get here?
Long story short, labels used to invest much more time and money in ‘artist development’. When people still purchased physical records, tapes, and CDs, the labels had an excess of revenue being generated that they could then invest in new artists.
Artists were being signed and given lucrative advances, often with no existing fanbase. Then along came digital music…
Let’s look at this abbreviated timeline to get a basic understanding of the crisis and evolution that the recorded music industry went through (and, arguably, is still going through).
When everyone started downloading music for free, the labels had to find a new business model. Along the way, most of the independent labels collapsed, or were bought and consolidated into the majors.
Here’s another helpful graphic to understand where we are now in our current ‘State of the Industry’.
Data now drives investment from most record labels, and digital marketing has made it possible to go directly to your fans if you have the budget and business savvy to do so.
So let’s explore how you might approach artist development in this new paradigm.
But first let’s acknowledge that publishers, management companies, and producers have become more involved in artist development. Again, we all fundamentally understand that it must be done, and most of us are very passionate about discovering new artists.
HOME is designed to be accessible for the independent artist, while also working hand in hand with the rest of the development ecosystem - record labels, publishers, artist management, agents, and especially producers.
Anyone who wants to accomplish something extraordinary needs a team.
Not every artist’s team will look the same, but at HOME we think of it this way…
There are actually 2 teams. There is a creative team, and a business team.
A principle that we operate from is this:
If the creative output is not steady, consistent AND excellent, the best you can hope for is a ‘lucky break’. Since there is no way to plan for a lucky break, we suggest building the creative machine before focusing too much energy on making business moves.
Business is built on delivering consistent value and being able to monetize that value.
In other words, having one hit song or viral video or big press moment does not necessarily translate into having a solid business model. However, you can absolutely build a business model around a steadily growing catalog of outstanding records and content.
You can think of the HOME Facility and Members as the ‘creative machine’ for that makes it possible for today’s recording artist to keep up with the constant output required in this modern era of streaming and content creation.
Because HOME is a concept by creators for creators, we intentionally set it up as a non-profit so that the independent artist can now access resources that were previously only available to large companies and institutions.
So, imagining that the artist has access to all of the above resources, let’s break down artist development into an oversimplified 7 step process.
Step 1: Develop the talent and discipline needed to continuously create excellent music. We meet a lot of creators who think that, because they are really great at making music, they will be successful in the music business. Unfortunately that is not the case. That is only step one ☝️
Step 2: Intentionally place the talented artist in an environment that is conducive to high growth and steady output (see above for the creative machine). If you don’t have access to the right tools and resources, you will end up in and endless loop of trying to find them.
Step 3: Simultaneously develop the artist’s music and brand by surrounding them with professionals and giving them a feedback loop to see their blindspots. Read this blog post to understand the importance of the ‘Feedback Loop’. Through HOME, the entire community can participate in the development process, which encourages rapid growth and team building opportunities.
Step 4: Look for feedback from industry peers as well as data that suggest that the product (music) and brand are now market ready. You can feel the buzz when it starts building, especially in a community like Nashville (and HOME) where we are all working together to spotlight the best projects.
Step 5: Create initial momentum by using proven marketing strategies to grow the artist’s audience while driving traffic to platforms that monetize their music and brand. After the production machine is rolling, marketing becomes the artist’s primary business activity. Of course artists are encouraged to market themselves early on, but after they have the feedback and data to show their product is really hot, they should focus intently on marketing (one of our favorite ‘HOME School’ subjects).
Step 6: Use the artist’s traction to create interest and leverage with industry gatekeepers, press, influencers, and any other parties that line up with the artist's strategic goals. The important word here is ‘goals’. You have to understand clearly what you are going after and why it matters to you. Artists now have the opportunity to be leaders and masters of their own destiny in ways that were never before possible. At HOME, we believe creators are powerful and they just have to learn to harness that power!
Step 7: Think long term about the intellectual property and brand value that the artist is generating, and continually focus on developing monetization strategies. Some of those monetization strategies may involve partnerships with other brands, investors, touring, or traditional publishing and record deals. Every artist’s path will be a bit different.
My personal saying is…
“A good deal is a good deal, and a bad deal is a bad deal, no matter who it’s with.”
Just make sure you understand everything about what you are signing before you sign it.
A big takeaway from the 7 Step process above is that there is barely any need for strategic business planning until the machine is consistently producing high quality music and content.
In order to keep up with these high output demands, an artist must focus on 3 things:
Thoughts - How are you staying positive and inspired in the face of the seemingly impossible?
Behaviors - What are the actual things you spend your time doing each day?
Environment - Do you have the resources and the people around you that make it more likely for you to succeed?