Have you heard of LaunchALabel.com?

Karol Gajda, one of the geniuses behind it is utilising the idea of “ask your fans what music you should create” - an idea I very much subscribe to. If you make music your fans don’t want, you’re not going to get sales.

Let’s analyse.

LaunchALabel.com is looking for 50,000 music fans to donate $25 each. These fans will then vote on five bands to sign to record contracts worth $200,000 each. The amount of money they’re giving is a good amount for an independent artist, especially if there’s a proven plan and set of strategies in place. If not, it’s going to be a gigantic failure.

They’re calling it: The World’s First Social Record Label.

The fact is - they’re choosing bands that are not really heard of. If they chose from established bands, they’d get a good success rate. So it’s a really interesting concept and one to watch out for.

More importantly, there’s a lesson there. I’ve already touched on it, but let’s look at it a bit more. How can you get your fans (the people who are going to give you money) involved in your decision-making about your music?

(1) RUN A POLL - at your website, asking fans to vote on particular song titles, for example.

(2) RUN A COMPETITION - for your fans to design your album artwork for you. The best artwork can be chosen on a poll and then the winner gets to spend a day with you or whatever you wish to offer.

(3) SEND AN EMAIL - simple, and also effective, ask them questions about the kind of music they’d like to hear from you, the kind of stories they want you to tell, etc.

Produce what your fans want and you’ll sell like crazy. It’s an undoubtedly proven marketing tactic for success.

Visit the site, do your own bit of thinking and let me know what you think.

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