What do the experts say it takes?
At Pro Soul, we like to think that we’re trailblazers of sort, offering innovative solutions to artists who are committed to their fans and to their music. But we can’t take all the credit for this original thought; we get advice and ideas from those who have proven that they know where things are going. There’s a handful of music industry experts who have long been preaching what it takes to be successful in the industry today.
One such insider is Bob Lefsetz, whose illustrious career in the entertainment industry – and in music in particular – is unparalleled. Lefsetz draws on his experience and insights in his blog, the Lefsetz Letter, which explores key issues affecting the music industry today. We love his outspoken approach to sharing his views on everything from P2P file sharing to the decline in major labels.
Lefsetz and his forward-thinking peers have foreseen the drastic changes in the music industry and have been more than willing to challenge conventional “wisdom” (a term we use loosely here). In a recent post, entitled “The Tribe“, Lefsetz emphasizes the importance of catering to fans – not the major labels, not the sponsors, not the radio stations.
While this isn’t exactly what traditional record labels would want to hear, Pro Soul is ecstatic – because we’re not your traditional record label. We don’t take from artists what belongs to them – rights to their music, control over their career, profits from their hard work. We help them find the right audience for their music, not the other way around. Unlike other labels, we don’t change our artists according to advertising demographics.
Lefsetz offers this advice for artists trying to navigate the industry and the multitude of options available today: “If it doesn’t bring people closer, if it doesn’t satiate and inspire your fans, forget about it.”
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
Tags: bob lefsetz, entertainment industry, file sharing, lefsetz letter, major labels, music industry, pro soul, Record Label
December 4th, 2008 at 8:03 am
Cool thoughts. I’m all about the ideas being thrown around here at Pro Soul and as both a Songwriter and internet/blogging junkie, I’m quite intrigued.
I would like more specifics though… How exactly does Pro Soul promote and help artists? Which methods, both online and offline do they employ?
Now I’m off to read up on Bob Lefsetz
Cheers
December 4th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Thanks Brian!
We’ve had very positive response to what we’re doing from artists, and your question is one that many have asked us about!
It’s not a simple question to answer in one post, but you can get some idea from our FAQ: http://www.prosoul.com/faqs
The simple answer is that basically Pro Soul assists you, the artist in not only finding and connecting with an international audience that will appreciate and support what you’re doing, but interact with that audience dynamically to develop a long lasting relationship, and then monetizing that relationship the way your diverse audiences wants most
December 8th, 2008 at 9:15 am
Right on…
It’s all about artist-fan interaction and these days that intimacy happens online more than ever.
I wrote about this at Serve The Song:
http://www.servethesong.net/2008/11/26/myspace-vs-facebook-for-songwriters/
and
http://www.servethesong.net/2008/12/03/why-songwriters-should-get-on-twitter/