tate music group...let's get specific

In my reading and web-browsing, I stumbled across an interesting article from a professor of music marketing. One of the final assignments he gives his class is a 1 year marketing plan. For these 'up and coming artists,' he has them create a plan which includes their strategy and goals for the next year of their music lives.

Interestingly, he explains that most of his students write down very general goals...things like sell more CDs and play more gigs. He argues that though these are great things to have happen, they don't really give you a basis to judge success or failure. His response to this, and I have to agree, is to be specific in setting goals and plans. His examples include sell 100 CDs, 200 single downloads, and 20 T-shirts per month...also, play 3 shows/gigs in Atlanta in June. Specifics like that. This way, he argues, you have a way of judging if you are succeeding and if not, you can look at the situation to figure out how to improve.

At Tate Music Group, in the Music Marketing Department and our Artist Acquisitions, we stress these same principles. It seems like a daily occurrence...talking to artists who have goals that are great but not always measureable. One of the most commonly used statements: "I/We want to make a living doing music..." Okay, that sounds great. Tate Music Group wants that for you, too. The question is, how are you going to make that happen? Specifically, what things are you doing to insure this success? How are you measuring it?

At Tate Music Group, we want to help you achieve your dreams and goals as an artist. That is why we have set up our marketing and promotion the way we have. We want to come alongside our artists and help them find success by setting manageable, achieveable goals...as well as giving the support needed to carry them out.

For example, if you want to sell 2,500 CDs/albums within 1 year of your release, then we want to set up a strategy that allows that to be measured and achieved. Let's plan on selling 100 albums before or on your release date. Then, divide the year into 12 months and sell 200 albums per month...or go farther and plan on playing a minimum of 4 shows/events per month and shoot for 50 albums per show. That is a plan that will allow you to look back at your numbers after 6 months and evaluate/re-evaluate where you are. Perhaps you have oversold your projections and you now need only sell 800 more albums to hit goal. Or, maybe you needed a break and had to drop to only 2 shows per month. Whatever the case, this allows you to see what you are doing and to take stock as to the success (be it huge or more moderate) of this musical venture.

For us here at Tate Music Group, we want all of our artists to be massive successes. The reality is that there will be levels of success...and a lot of that depends on the teamwork and goals of both TMG and the artist. The fact is, having good, well-planned, realistic goals will allow you to remain focused and aware of what and how you are doing. It also helps to reduce the amount of frustration that may arise due to a lack of planning and a lack of having a 'big picture.' You have to see where you want to be and realize that it will take time, hard work, and even some breaks to get there.

Ultimately, what I am trying to say is this...Rome wasn't built in a day...and neither was U2.