Updated April 2, 2012 – The Treatment replied to my question on Facebook today with “Pretty sure its available on iTunes!” Unfortunately they are wrong, it is not on iTunes. The band is not even listed on iTunes. It should be a band’s responsibility to KNOW where you can find their music, not think they know. Definitely not a fans job to hunt down the music. The album is also not on Amazon mp3, though I can find high-priced CD imports, I suspect the album never was released in the US. If that is the case, a band should know that. Bands, this is your career… give a fuck about it! Take a lesson from Gene Simmons, be involved in EVERY aspect of your career, know EVERYTHING that is happening with your band. Know exactly where your music can be purchased.
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How long does it take you to reply to a fan who asks where they can buy your music?
This is something I am sure many of you have encountered, I know it has happened to me a number of times. March 29th I posted on the Facebook wall of the band The Treatment asking where I could buy a digital download of their album “This Might Hurt.” 24 hours later and no response. By the way, the About section on their Facebook page says, ‘This Might Hurt’ available now! I am not the only fan posting the same question, I counted three questions about buying their album within hours of each other. No reply to any of them. Fail!
Some backstory for you, The Treatment was just announced as the support act for the upcoming KISS/Motley Crue tour. They are signed to Spinefarm/Universal Records in the UK and have released a album called “This Might Hurt.” They have brand new fans discovering them with this tour announcement, fans asking about their music, fans asking to buy their music. How many of you would love to be in this situation?
Maybe the album is not available for purchase in the US, if that is the case explain it. Don’t ignore it. Maybe you can make some music available on your website, direct to fan. Problem, The Treatment does not have a website. They have MySpace, Reverbnation, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook, but no website. Come on guys!
Back to the problem… you have to reply to fans who ask about your music. You are not selling to them, you are not pushing your product on them… the fans are coming to you ready to buy. You couldn’t ask for anything better. Don’t leave fans hanging on something as important as answering their question about where to find your music. Remember, a fan who wants your music bad enough will go find other ways to obtain it… sell it to them when you have the chance.
There is never a excuse for not replying to fans who want to buy your music.
I absolutely hate it when this happens too, Michael. One time, I went as far as to ask fans on a band’s Last.fm page (the music was that good)! I got a reply there faster than the band’s Facebook page. Then again, it’s not hard to be sooner than “never.”
Apparently some bands have enough money that they aren’t concerned with selling another copy of their cd.
In the marketing platform, a fan that wants to buy a CD from an artist is called a “laydown”. Greedy marketeers call them a “mullet.”
The comment you made above Mike, “Apparently some bands have enough money that they aren’t concerned with selling another copy of their cd.” is a great slap in the face to an artist. But the reality of it is, is they don’t know how to market it. This goes right down to the record labels themselves who are trying to do digital download sales. Their broke.
Musicians are the worst at marketing their own brand! I know. I’m one of them.
Hope this was helpful.
When can we play tennis?
Sincerely,
Scott Price
U N I R 1
“Things just get better when UNIR1”
Update, still no reply. Shaking my head. Sad to say, but sometimes only a slap in the face will get someone to pay attention.
For someone that’s web savvy you really should of searched a bit harder 😉 a quick search of Amazon found this http://www.amazon.co.uk/This-Might-Hurt-The-Treatment/dp/B005BQRLM8/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1333362835&sr=1-1
Seriously, whoever is looking after their online profiles needs a slap!
The initial point of the post is the band not replying to a question. Which by the way they just did this morning, with “Pretty sure its available on iTunes!” Which it is not, their band is not even found in iTunes. They should know exactly where you find their music, not think they know. But, I shouldn’t have to work to find their music, their job is to make it very easy for the fans to buy their music. Not a single buy link on their Facebook page. When I did a search the only Amazon link that came up was, http://www.amazon.com/This-Might-Hurt-Treatment/dp/B004I5VPLG no mp3 and only a high priced CD import. On page two of the Google results (who goes to page two?) I found http://www.amazon.com/This-Might-Hurt/dp/B004H6VUU2 still no mp3 availalbe. Though I did see a couple torrent links.
Not exactly the same, but a story for you along a similar line:
Leading up to this years CMW I contacted a local band via the email address listed on their website, telling them I was planning on posting about them on my music blog as a band to look for at the festival and asking for some more information about them that I could include in the article. I did not receive a reply from them. Instead I included them along with 2 other bands in a post prior to the event, using information I got from their Myspace & Reverbnation pages.
On the first day of the festival I was at a venue to watch another band and I ran across this band in the audience. I introduced myself to them and let them know that I had not heard back from them but that I had put them up on my blog. They gave me a business card with their managers number and email address. The next day I emailed the manager explaining who I was and asking if he could let me know the next time they played in the area and to contact me with some more information so I could do a more in depth feature on them. I never heard back from him.
My blog is pretty new (only 3 months) and I don’t have a big name or a lot of followers. But twice I contacted this independent band who also probably does not have a big following, and offered to post about them on my blog and all it would have taken was a 5 min email with a bit of info. I didn’t even get a ‘thanks for your interest’ acknowledgement.
Isn’t the whole point of CMW to market your band?
Sad, they should have called their manager the next day and said did you hear from this person? Then a follow up again to say did you send them material? Then another follow up, did they post anything? When I was working with KISS Gene would send me something to do, I KNEW he would follow up very soon asking if it was taken care of. And if I was waiting on someone else he would contact that person and find out what was happening. Nobody is going to be any more involved in your career than you are yourself.
There’s a name for this in the business world – leaving money on the table. No excuse.
Some artists are their own worst enemy.
I’m a big fan of the Treatment I play them on Hard Rock Nights quite a bit and have been for the past year or so. The initial release of This Might Hurt was available on iTunes and Amazon downloads, but once they signed with Spinefarm/Universal and the album was repackaged with a few bonus tracks it was pulled and hasn’t been available since at least in the U.S. I’m not trying to defend the band because I’ve gotten the same “treatment” from them as Michael’s received. I’ve tagged them on Facebook and Twitter promoting them being on the show and how much I dig the music and got nothing back from them not a “Thank you” or even a “F* You” so I know what you’re talking about there.
But the point I’m trying to make is it may not entirely be the band’s fault the album isn’t available in the U.S. I’ve ran across this problem a lot with Spinefarm artists. I usually ended up having to buy the album from Amazon UK or pay the import price. I’ve had the same “no reply” problem from the label itself Hard Rock Nights is heard on 12 different stations stations throughout the UK, both internet and terrestrial stations you would think they would be interested in getting their artists airplay on the show, but apparently they don’t.
I finally started working with the PR company that handles Spinefarm, but even then I had to publicly call them out and make them look like an ass before they would talk to me.
I guess what I’m trying to say is yes you can put some of the blame on the band, but you can put even more of the blame on the label. They not only need to teach their artists social media, but they need to teach themselves social media skills as well and just like every other big business they need to wake up and realize there are no more borders or boundaries in business anymore, especially in the music business. The world is their marketplace and they better start taking advantage of it, because if they don’t someone else will.
Brian, I would reply it is completely the band’s responsibility to know where their album is distributed, where it is available. If they don’t know, then it is still their fault for not knowing their own business. Anything happening with the band’s name, the band is ultimately responsible. It is their name, their reputation and their fans.
wow! As soon as I get asked where people, can get my music I reply with a few options that I think are the best. My music is my job and it is my job to know where people can buy my music… seem pretty simple to me.
That is how you should run a band!
I’m amazed that any musician with any released music can’t immediately, (from memory and definitively) say, here is where you can find my music right now. It’s not just about making a sale; it’s the very thing that you do, and up until now, I assume you love to do this more than anything else. If you aren’t sure how someone can find your music, it says to me that you probably don’t give a rat’s ass. What a surefire way to turn off a fan.
Michael I couldn’t agree more.
At my job I see it all the time – we’ll have an ad agency READY to use a song in a commercial, then ask for the splits. So we hit up the A&R team and say “we need the instrumentals for this – do we have them?” The answer is too often “No, ” which leads us to having to contact the manager, who then asks the band, who then asks the recording studio…well by the time all the cogs are working together it’s too late. This recently happened and a band lost a great opportunity and over $25K.
Artists need to learn that they can still be creative while learning the necessary business skills to keep their fans engaged and potential income streams maximized.
The days of not communicating directly with fans/would be fans are over. Everyone is accessible these days. So if you simply never get a response (especially to someone wanting to get their hands on your material) it comes off as a bit lazy and arrogant in my opinion. We all just want to connect, and when someone reaches out to you in an authentic way….respond to them from the heart!
Folding your arms like a veteran “rock star” is lame! If you don’t care about your fans and career, do what these guys did. Absolutely agree, know what’s going on in all 4 quadrants…always. And most importantly…lets all give a shit!!
Well said, nothing more I can add.