I know, it's been a long time since I've posted anything. That's because I'm going thru one of those spells where the needs of life have torn me away from music, so there isn't much to write about. So don't expect anything too exciting.
Promotion...it comes with the territory when you play music. Unless, of course, your aspiration is to be a "great unknown". Even if, like me, you crave solitude more than fame, your music needs to be out there or it won't be available to those who will appreciate it.
The first emotion that comes into my mind?...Terror. I take on the task of promotion with a smile, albeit with teeth gritted. I wasn't designed to "stand out" which is further reinforced by being brought up not to regard myself as a "big shot".
But on we go...the first problem with promotion is the familiar analogy of pulling oneself up by one's bootstraps. Like the similar problem "you have to have money to get rich" you find that you need to be "well-known" to become famous. When the major labels find someone they think is saleable, they spare no expense at promotion. But keep in mind that "saleable" to them means someone who is going to appeal to the largest number of people. In other words, a "mass audience". They play the odds.
There is another way. By slowly making connections with folks, at first one at a time, then by interlacing circles is a sure and steady way to build a following. But this is truly a "people" method. If you don't really relate to your new friends one at a time, you will eventually be found out as a "phony" who only cares about their own success.
However, the great reward about the people method is that even if you never achieve fame you have still had a meaningful career! You need to accept from the start that only a very small percentage of those you meet will ever pay to hear you play or buy your CD.
I still feel like the odds are in your favor, however, because your fan-base is more solid than the proverbial fickle "record-buying public". The only thing stopping you really, is how much time you have to devote to your friends (I hate to call them "followers"). The only other factor I can think of that is relevant is if times change to the point where your music is no longer relatable.
So exposure is the main thing, whichever philosophy you subscribe to. You have to be on the horizon of a lot of folks consciousness' before you can connect with those who really "get" what you do.
I have had an experience lately which I have published elsewhere, that doesn't directly relate to promotion, but does illustrate the phenomenon of connecting to someone's music from the listener's point of view.
As a musician, I listen to many styles/genres of music and am able to gain an appreciation for what the artist is attempting, whether they've succeeded, and to find how it relates to my own approach & experiences. For me, this an enjoyable thing (mostly) and I'm not overly critical.
However, while the "average listener" (if there IS such a thing) also does not hold their standards terribly high, there is still a bar that must be crossed in order for a song to become a "hit" for them. It is the bar of emotional connection. Unless that bar be crossed, give up all hope of holding a permanent chamber in their heart, not to mention them seeing fit of wanting to own your CD.
The experience I speak of is one of the few times I have felt that kind of thing in many years toward a major label release. (I usually prefer to support independent artists).
Jason Aldean (of whom I am not truly a fan) has a song called "Fly Over States". In some ways it mirrors what I've been up to the last few years. As we were packing up to travel from our new Western home to go back to the East Coast, the song was sort of hovering on the edge of my mind. But as we were passing thru eastern Oklahoma, already feeling a bit homesick, that song came on the radio cementing itself firmly to me in a kind of experience that I seldom have had as a now mature musician. And I thought, "This is it. This what it's all about. When the music becomes embedded in our lives and inextricable from our emotions."
Isn't that what we all want for our artistic "children", our songs?
