How can I build an audience and should I worry about this?
I think audiences are a critical part of music. I think it's important to worry about them. Without them we lose a lot of purpose. With no audience, there is still the musician. At the very least, we musicians need to be worried about what we play. There should never be a time where we play for no one with no regard to the reception.
I can build an audience through marketing most easily. After that I think it's just a matter of investing into the music. People are drawn to art that is worthy of admiration. Art can only be worthy of admiration when enough time and energy has been poured into it.
In terms of live music, audiences know when the musician is into the music or not. It's an easy sense to gain if you attend live music events. When the musician is truly invested into the creation of the music, the audience can enjoy it much more. There is a much greater, but still unsaid, value that is placed in the music.
This is what I think is the way to retain an audience. Getting it in the first place is tougher. It's all about finding the people that care about the music you are playing. Marketing helps, but there will always be people missed. Word-of-mouth is almost always the most reliable way of hearing about new and exciting things, but it's hard to exploit that to build an audience.
To keep it simply, to build an audience I need to make music that matters. Who decides what matters? I do. I should always be worried about this.
I can build an audience through marketing most easily. After that I think it's just a matter of investing into the music. People are drawn to art that is worthy of admiration. Art can only be worthy of admiration when enough time and energy has been poured into it.
In terms of live music, audiences know when the musician is into the music or not. It's an easy sense to gain if you attend live music events. When the musician is truly invested into the creation of the music, the audience can enjoy it much more. There is a much greater, but still unsaid, value that is placed in the music.
This is what I think is the way to retain an audience. Getting it in the first place is tougher. It's all about finding the people that care about the music you are playing. Marketing helps, but there will always be people missed. Word-of-mouth is almost always the most reliable way of hearing about new and exciting things, but it's hard to exploit that to build an audience.
To keep it simply, to build an audience I need to make music that matters. Who decides what matters? I do. I should always be worried about this.
Great point about the musicians being into the music. That characteristic really enhances the quality of the performance, and can really draw the community of the audience and the performers together.
ReplyDeleteI would need to think about how to make sure my students are "into" the music - or in other words, that they "own" their music, so their performances will be awesome experiences.