Murdock Jones
New member
Here's some excellent info I found on target markets. I know it's long, but trust me it's good.
Targeting Your Area
By Wendy Day of Rap Coalition
For those of you who read this column every issue, you may find the
beginning of this article a bit redundant, but it's discussing a
mistake I
see being made over and over in today's marketplace. So it bears
repeating:
whether you are putting out your record to get a deal from a larger or
major
label (what most artists are looking for because they prefer the fame
over
the money), or putting out your record to build your own record company
(Hooray for Esham, Lil Keke, and South Park Mexican...), be careful to
not
choose too large an area. This is of extreme importance. First of all,
it is
next to impossible for a small label without connections,
relationships, and
experience, to reach many markets at once cost effectively. Most small
labels can't afford the cost of radio, retail, and street promotions in
many
markets simultaneously, nor do they have the staff or manpower to chase
a
large area. The artist can not be in every market at once to do "radio
and
retail" or perform, which are key components of selling records, nor
can
most small labels afford the excess product it takes to completely
saturate
multi-markets. Bear in mind, that every retail store in each area needs
to
have product (and more than one or two) and if you're lucky enough to
have
those re-orders start coming in, you have about 2 weeks to fill those
orders
to avoid bootlegging and to avoid unhappy retailers.
One of my friends just released a compilation album in the mid west,
and
before the project really got cracking at home base, they did a deal
with
Southwest to reach the entire South. Aside from not being able to chase
all
of those markets in addition to the mid west because they aren't funded
properly, there's no way they can cost effectively offer the artists to
all
of those markets at once. They can't possibly afford all the street
teams
and tools (posters, flats, stickers, etc) at once, which means some
product
is going to sit on retailer's shelves without moving. Guess what will
happen
when there's another release? Retailers remember what product sells
well and
what product doesn't. You only get one chance to impress a retailer.
The
reason I'm sharing my friend's situation isn't to blow him up and
embarrass
him, but to illustrate the importance of having a goal and making
logical
steps to achieve that goal. The goal of his release is to do a deal
with a
larger label, preferably a major label for the artists coming up with
him,
all of whom are featured on the album. Unfortunately, even with a ton
of
sales, there's no way a major can step in and profit off of this
release
because so many markets have already been blitzed, even though each
market
has not been maximized. Originally, they planned to release the project
in a
few markets to prove its viability and then to sell the project to a
major
so they could put their machine behind it and really blow up the
project and
the artists. Now all the key markets are being penetrated half assed,
and
there's no profitability for a major to step in and run with the ball.
Since
the album is a compilation featuring a bunch of artists, it will be
impossible to gage which artists drove the sales of the record, which
means
a label would have to sign the whole roster (8 artists), a feat very
doubtful in today's marketplace. The risk just became VERY high for a
larger
record label. Why sign an entire indie label's roster when that major
label
can step into another area with one artist selling the same amount of
units
and be guaranteed to get a proven successful act. Lil Keke is at 79,000
units SoundScan (although 140,000 really sold) this week and that's
with a
large amount of untapped markets for a major to step in and exploit. A
major
could easily re-release Keke's album and still sell another 350,000
units
with minimal effort. It's a proven commodity. But when an independent
label
releases a record, with no one proven act, and minimal sales left for a
larger label to step in and maximize, it just doesn't accomplish the
goal of
getting a deal. It also makes the smaller label appear to not know what
they
are doing, which kills any chance of a label deal where they have any
control or say-so in how future projects are run. The opinion of
another one
of my friends, Twista, was that a smaller label not heeding my advice
when
putting out a record is like having Michael Jordan for a friend and
never
going to a game. Although I loved the compliment, I'm not convinced the
analogy is correct, but not following the plan just doesn't make good
business sense. It's very short term and a great way to lose a record
or
spend too much money with limited return. Released correctly, it's too
easy
to expand when the need arises (customer demand is the best reason to
expand
your market), that to do so in the project's third week is a sure sign
that
someone is a novice or anxious to lose money, effort, and time! I hope
I'm
wrong, because it's a great project and they are my friends, but I've
been
doing this for five years now and can think of hundreds of examples
where
this did not achieve the desired goals, and none where it did. Hope my
friends are the ones to beat the odds!!! I love them!
What spurred them to do something like this? A phone call out of
curiosity
to Southwest Wholesale, which led to an order of 20,000 units and the
promise of money. Of course getting the back end will be next to
impossible
because the money will need to be held in reserves in case of returns,
and
without a proper budget to blitz the market Southwest sells in (the
South),
returns could run high. As a label, it is your job to create demand and
get
the customer to come into the retail store and buy the product. You
create
demand by getting the project in the face of the consumer, preferably
at a
time of year when all the heavyweights like Jay-Z, Ice Cube, Dr Dre,
DMX,
Method Man, etc are not dropping at the same time. Aside from not
wanting
the consumer to have to choose between an artist with limited
promotion, and
a major artist with a million dollar marketing campaign behind him, you
also
want to approach retail at a period when they have room and time to
help
sell your project. You want to reach the consumer (who view buying your
record a risk as compared to Jay-Z or DMX) when they aren't already
deciding
which album to spend their little $20 a week on. Bear in mind that the
bulk
of record buyers in rap music (until you get to that all elusive gold
level
where the project then crosses over into the mainstream suburbs) are
inner
city youth between 11 and 23 years old. Think about the amount of money
a
teenager has to spend on music-and now factor in that those limited
funds
also have to support video games, food, clothing allowances, and hang
out
money. Doesn't leave much opportunity for selling records, huh?!
I've been getting a lot of positive feedback over the past few months
but
many people are asking why an artist would want to put out his or her
own
record...
Targeting Your Area
By Wendy Day of Rap Coalition
For those of you who read this column every issue, you may find the
beginning of this article a bit redundant, but it's discussing a
mistake I
see being made over and over in today's marketplace. So it bears
repeating:
whether you are putting out your record to get a deal from a larger or
major
label (what most artists are looking for because they prefer the fame
over
the money), or putting out your record to build your own record company
(Hooray for Esham, Lil Keke, and South Park Mexican...), be careful to
not
choose too large an area. This is of extreme importance. First of all,
it is
next to impossible for a small label without connections,
relationships, and
experience, to reach many markets at once cost effectively. Most small
labels can't afford the cost of radio, retail, and street promotions in
many
markets simultaneously, nor do they have the staff or manpower to chase
a
large area. The artist can not be in every market at once to do "radio
and
retail" or perform, which are key components of selling records, nor
can
most small labels afford the excess product it takes to completely
saturate
multi-markets. Bear in mind, that every retail store in each area needs
to
have product (and more than one or two) and if you're lucky enough to
have
those re-orders start coming in, you have about 2 weeks to fill those
orders
to avoid bootlegging and to avoid unhappy retailers.
One of my friends just released a compilation album in the mid west,
and
before the project really got cracking at home base, they did a deal
with
Southwest to reach the entire South. Aside from not being able to chase
all
of those markets in addition to the mid west because they aren't funded
properly, there's no way they can cost effectively offer the artists to
all
of those markets at once. They can't possibly afford all the street
teams
and tools (posters, flats, stickers, etc) at once, which means some
product
is going to sit on retailer's shelves without moving. Guess what will
happen
when there's another release? Retailers remember what product sells
well and
what product doesn't. You only get one chance to impress a retailer.
The
reason I'm sharing my friend's situation isn't to blow him up and
embarrass
him, but to illustrate the importance of having a goal and making
logical
steps to achieve that goal. The goal of his release is to do a deal
with a
larger label, preferably a major label for the artists coming up with
him,
all of whom are featured on the album. Unfortunately, even with a ton
of
sales, there's no way a major can step in and profit off of this
release
because so many markets have already been blitzed, even though each
market
has not been maximized. Originally, they planned to release the project
in a
few markets to prove its viability and then to sell the project to a
major
so they could put their machine behind it and really blow up the
project and
the artists. Now all the key markets are being penetrated half assed,
and
there's no profitability for a major to step in and run with the ball.
Since
the album is a compilation featuring a bunch of artists, it will be
impossible to gage which artists drove the sales of the record, which
means
a label would have to sign the whole roster (8 artists), a feat very
doubtful in today's marketplace. The risk just became VERY high for a
larger
record label. Why sign an entire indie label's roster when that major
label
can step into another area with one artist selling the same amount of
units
and be guaranteed to get a proven successful act. Lil Keke is at 79,000
units SoundScan (although 140,000 really sold) this week and that's
with a
large amount of untapped markets for a major to step in and exploit. A
major
could easily re-release Keke's album and still sell another 350,000
units
with minimal effort. It's a proven commodity. But when an independent
label
releases a record, with no one proven act, and minimal sales left for a
larger label to step in and maximize, it just doesn't accomplish the
goal of
getting a deal. It also makes the smaller label appear to not know what
they
are doing, which kills any chance of a label deal where they have any
control or say-so in how future projects are run. The opinion of
another one
of my friends, Twista, was that a smaller label not heeding my advice
when
putting out a record is like having Michael Jordan for a friend and
never
going to a game. Although I loved the compliment, I'm not convinced the
analogy is correct, but not following the plan just doesn't make good
business sense. It's very short term and a great way to lose a record
or
spend too much money with limited return. Released correctly, it's too
easy
to expand when the need arises (customer demand is the best reason to
expand
your market), that to do so in the project's third week is a sure sign
that
someone is a novice or anxious to lose money, effort, and time! I hope
I'm
wrong, because it's a great project and they are my friends, but I've
been
doing this for five years now and can think of hundreds of examples
where
this did not achieve the desired goals, and none where it did. Hope my
friends are the ones to beat the odds!!! I love them!
What spurred them to do something like this? A phone call out of
curiosity
to Southwest Wholesale, which led to an order of 20,000 units and the
promise of money. Of course getting the back end will be next to
impossible
because the money will need to be held in reserves in case of returns,
and
without a proper budget to blitz the market Southwest sells in (the
South),
returns could run high. As a label, it is your job to create demand and
get
the customer to come into the retail store and buy the product. You
create
demand by getting the project in the face of the consumer, preferably
at a
time of year when all the heavyweights like Jay-Z, Ice Cube, Dr Dre,
DMX,
Method Man, etc are not dropping at the same time. Aside from not
wanting
the consumer to have to choose between an artist with limited
promotion, and
a major artist with a million dollar marketing campaign behind him, you
also
want to approach retail at a period when they have room and time to
help
sell your project. You want to reach the consumer (who view buying your
record a risk as compared to Jay-Z or DMX) when they aren't already
deciding
which album to spend their little $20 a week on. Bear in mind that the
bulk
of record buyers in rap music (until you get to that all elusive gold
level
where the project then crosses over into the mainstream suburbs) are
inner
city youth between 11 and 23 years old. Think about the amount of money
a
teenager has to spend on music-and now factor in that those limited
funds
also have to support video games, food, clothing allowances, and hang
out
money. Doesn't leave much opportunity for selling records, huh?!
I've been getting a lot of positive feedback over the past few months
but
many people are asking why an artist would want to put out his or her
own
record...
