Okay this is a really long blog but as I say sometimes you don’t always have to blog for your readers. Writing my blog gets ideas out there, it’s like the wardance psyching me up for the technical battle ahead
Always be ready to pounce and innovate. Think about how my new ideas for reaching people with my digital promotion skills for kurb could transfer over to work for you creating value around your music. I think I’m going to do a blog on that just so you can connect the dots.
For more ideas on new revenue models for artists check this out:
http://kurbpromotion.wordpress.com/2007/12/01/matt-from-kurb-can-haz-new-music-industry-model/
Okay so let me talk about this new idea.
I am going to be posting a lot and repeating myself a lot about how this concept works because this is the way I’ll be leveraging my blog to sell a quality proposition the same way you would leverage your blog to sell your music related products and services.
I think there’s a difference now between hard selling and building a platform or a frame with your product at the centre.
For example, if you write a blog post about a particular song, and I know if you’re a musician you should be able to describe what your music means or is about in painstaking detail, how is someone reading the blog going to feel about the song?
Probably really curious to actually hear it and check it out.
So what I’m developing is still a tiered pricing structure for kurb but it will be changing it’s operational structure to a private forum for which there will be a small cost for access:
Let’s get that one out of the way: US$40 p/month.
I can do this of course, because I run the company and I can. Another good thing about being in control of your music. The decision to try something radical and new is all down to you.
It’s based on providing at least the same or even more value for more clients at less of a cost because I really got stuck in to my this vision of marketing that I’m not selling a product or service but I am selling a solution to a problem.
And what I saw as the problem was bringing all the ground breaking efficiency of the digital world to artists in a way that translated to a low cost for a high value service.
My ultimate aim to strive towards is to actually replace the traditional structure of the music industry so that an artist can rely completely on a digital based service platform for all business related needs – all aspects not directly related to writing, performing and recording could be handled digitally.
From at $US10 p/week artists will access detailed instructions on how to implement and develop a comprehensive online campaign to create revenue – to at $US100 p/week where our staff would effectively manage your band completely, someone would even research and call venues in your city to solicit performance requests. Probably best to start with English speaking cities if you don’t mind!
You see n the past, I chose to cut down my amount of clients and charge more so I can work more closely on building strategies for artists and delivering on value. Now I want to move towards efficiently providing the same service to more clients at a lower price.
Because I’ve already said that you need a product for every budget. And so do I!
I HAD to introduce a $10 p/week digital promotion service.
I had to create the unique proposition to address this situation, because a band that can’t put $10 towards developing an internet promotion strategy isn’t serious.
And I get a lot of people emailing me who aren’t serious. People who need to spend a few months reading blogs before I could even help them.
How could I create worthwhile value for people who weren’t mentally or financially well placed to begin digital promotion?
It’s the same for a musician who MUST accept a first time visitor isn’t just going to grab your album on whim on showing up on your site. What level commitment can you get at this stage?
Also, scalability is an important part of any economic equation. You can scale a digital product like an mp3 download to as far as demand for it stretches but you can only play one or maybe two gigs a night. As Derek sivers says - you can make money in your sleep.
Now in moving my operation to this private membership forum I realised I could build a far more efficient business model buy creating a community who all have a universal exclusive access to ongoing information I provide.
The fundamental here is that even though I am somewhat open about what I do in digital promotions, A lot of stuff I would never tell you HOW I do it.
For example, in this blog I will tell you that if you go to this site of funny dog pictures
http://www.laughoutlouddogs.com
and leave a comment linking back to your site, it will help you on google.
On the forum, will be a list of 300 blogs you can comment on that will probably create so much google authority you’ll have 100+ visitors to your site everyday for the next couple of years.
Here’s an example – if you’re one of the guys who pays $US40 p/month you get the list, you can take a few nights, carry out the task. If you pay $US200 p/month, it’ll just get done by a kurb grunt.
But within this private forum will be an ongoing, ever expanding, ever updating reference to the world of online music business.
Licensing, publishing and publicity are areas that I have not been able to develop aggressively in the past but regardless I’m going to be pushing in every direction - there’ll be detailed tutorials of every single service I provide, total explanations of most of the techniques I use, basically, step by step guides to setting up your music for multiple avenues of online business and exposure.
Here’s the initial list of what the forums index will cover. The capitalised headings indicate where there will be a dedicated staff specialist supporting those on a premium membership (starting at US$100 p/month)
Getting started
Myspace and social networking
Campaigns and Strategising
Web 2.0, Blogging, Internet Marketing
SEO CENTRE (search engine optimisation)
Offline Tips – Performing, physical media
Social Networking
Licensing
Video and Youtube
DISTRIBUTION AND IMPLEMENTATION CENTRE
AUTOMATION CENTRE
WEB + GRAPHIC DESIGN ASSISTANCE CENTRE
MANAGEMENT CENTRE
Music Co op
In addition to that I will be posting regular articles and answering clients questions directly so that questions are accessible by other clients for future reference.
As I said, there will be a whole lot more I can say on a private forum that I can’t just tell the world on myspace or on my blog. The music world isn’t even thinking about Internet Marketing and the Internet Marketing world is to busy making money elsewhere to worry about music.
But access to the work we do will be even more transparent. For those premium subscribers who still wish to retain our automated services and other support we offer, within the forum, artists will be able to post tasks for myself and the team to take care of – myspace promotion, blog promotion,
It is my aim to outsource a full time graphic and web designer who will attend to design requests and tweaks to websites and blog design. Another junior assistance will be dedicated to automated promotion on myspace, youtube, back linking strategies etc. full time, while I will still be available to assist with personal consultations on strategy and will be available to answer questions in the forum directly and interact with premium clients at a certain point each day.
I think it’s time to go to the bullets.
OLD KURB DIGITAL COACHING AND ONLINE PROMOTIONS MODEL
$200 p/month: comprehensive digital coaching and online promotion strategy
$300 p/month: more comprehensive digital coaching and online promotion strategy
$400 p/month: really comprehensive digital coaching and online promotion strategy
NEW KURB DIGITAL COACHING AND ONLINE PROMOTIONS MODEL
Forum Level $US40 p/month
Access to members only forum
- all content, members q&a support, giveaways and special offers
Non priority support and assistance
- design, implementation, code
Basic static band page on Kurb Music
Automated level $US100 p/month
Automated promotion on Myspace, Youtube, Facebook
Basic blog with domain name and hosting
Band page on Kurb Music
Access to members only forum
- all content, members q&a support, giveaways and special offers
Low priority support and assistance
- design, implementation, code, copy
Basic SEO and backlinking
Assistance level $US200 p/month
Boosted automated promotion on Myspace, Youtube, Facebook, etc
Website design and development with blog and personal blog consulting, domain name and hosting
SEO and Backlinking
Band store page and promotion on Kurb Music
Access to members only forum
- all content, members q&a support, giveaways and special offers
Priority support and assistance
- design, commerce, implementation, code, copy, video
Obviously the whole thing is going to be renewed when we introduce the management package at $US400 p/month because as far as I know this is going to be the first fully comprehensive management service ever offered on line.
How are we going to manage it? Skype, and international calls to landlines at 3c a minute. That’s what a manager does, calls people and makes a real connection with people in order to give the act the break it needs.
I can think of nothing worse than having to call people on the other side of the world to encourage them to give a band a chance. But I’m sure there’ll be someone out there who loves it and will be great at it.
So whats the schedule?
Definitely hope to be showing people round the new place before the end of the month, but don’t expect the furniture to be in.
Over July I will hopefully allowing free sign ups for the forum level and I’ll be receiving expressions of interest on more intensive operations.
In august the first charges will be implemented, so full access will close for non paying members. And that’s when I’ll start a pretty heavy marketing campaign.
The forum will be initially limited to 100 sign ups, and 20 premium clients.
If it does become successful and I think given 6 months to build up a solid campaign, it’s highly possible, if I choose to allow more than 100 sign ups, I will drop the price.
I hope to bring in a management assistant in October and then next year create a management package designed to support full time professional musicians who need to have their revenue, fan management and promotion handled and scheduled completely.
Now as I said I’m going to be packaging all this stuff down into some pretty relentless pitching so please forgive me!
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