Hello and welcome back music lovers and readers! We’re continuing our chat about the music industry and what we can learn from it in terms of the publishing field. Missed out on Part 1? No fear! Click here!
What’s our focus today?
Social Media in the Music Industry
But first, meet our band!
TUGG: Andrew Hughes-Vocals/Guitar, Joe Gantzer-Guitar/Keyboard, Jake McLees-Bass, and Ben Rohde-Drums
(Excerpt from their California Tour DVD – filmed and edited by Rob Born, Resident Cameraman, literally…He told me I’m his favorite roommate!) *grins*
Here them play!
And see more mustaches.
Bradley Was a DJ
Lovers Rock
Like the tunes? You can win both songs and more by commenting on today’s post! Chances improve by commenting on Part 1 or tweeting both posts! Winner receives a FREE copy of TUGG’s full album:
Social Media: The Why’s, the What’s In It For Me, and its Wonders (fans!)
Jess: There are many positive effects surrounding e-publishing: readers can check out excerpts of your book before buying, cost is less overall, authors earn more (on average), receipt of the product is instant. But all these advancements mean we market and perform differently. Book clubs and book bloggers have become a widely watched group of people because their reviews are now driving book sales. Do you think the impact on music sales or concert attendance is as driven by audience at this time?
Andy: Yes I do. The audience is driving the boat. We’re an independent band so we can’t book a tour on the promise or premise that we’ll sell out the venue. The promoters and venues have to trust that we have the audience reach or the potential to reach the audience in that market. When we get to a point within a market that we know we’ll be successful I think it changes. We control our own destiny a little bit more and then it becomes our responsibility to grow that market and make sure we are doing a good job of getting our products into their hands.
Blogging for authors has become a way for the writer to interact with his readers. We can get to know one another by commenting and sharing personal stories. In what ways does the band outreach to its listeners?
We’re constantly doing Social Media and meeting our friends/fans. When we meet folks at shows we always try and get connected with them on a social media platform or exchange numbers so we can text them. Anyway that we can keep the conversation open and let them know when we’ll be back in their town. Our audience, which become our friends is the backbone of everything we do. When we go to a new market, our goal is simple. Make at least 1 new friend on this night and in this city. If we can at the very least do that we’re successful. The second part of that equation is that hopefully and usually that 1 friend brings a friend the next time. So if we do our job well and keep in touch with the first friend, hopefully everytime we come back to that city our crowd grows outward from that one fan. Then you start having more and more little groups that just keep growing. Honestly, those are the folks that year after year are who we put on our guest-list when we play, that original friend we made on our first or second time through a city.
When we go to a new market, our goal is simple. Make at least 1 new friend on this night and in this city.
We also have found it to be important to keep sharing our music and ideas with our friends. Sites like Bandcamp and Jam’s Space, and YouTube have been a great way for us to keep offering our true friends/fans incentives, free music, etc.
L to R: Andrew Hughes, Ben Rohde, Jake McLees; Center: Joe Gantzer
What’s the best way a fan can support the band?
The best way for someone to support us is to friend us, like us, follow us, share us, etc on Social Media and our website http://www.tuggmusic.com. From there, buying our albums and merchandise from us at our shows is the best way to monetarily support the band. If you are not able to get to a show then buying and sharing our albums on things like iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Spotify, etc are also solid ways to show support. We’re all about sharing. In our industry sharing is truly caring. If we can get 50 people in 1 day to share our Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/tuggmusic) in a few days and we get 100 more “likes” it means everything.
Growing fans is like oxygen for artists and performers. We thrive on our audience’s excitement. With technology’s advancements for instant download of a book or album, they’re also much hungrier for “the next big thing” that much quicker. Many writers have released novellas and flash fiction pieces to maintain presence in the reader’s mind. Do you think the same process applies in music with the increase in singles and EP’s?
Yes definitely. We’ve talked about this as a band and we’re actually in the middle of releasing music for this very reason. We live in a “what have you done for me lately” society and it is no different being a musician/artist. As you said, everyone is looking for the next big release or next big something constantly. We were releasing 1 album a year for our first 3-4 years and we feel like we’re behind. We’re actually going to release some tracks that we recorded around the time we did our last EP Home Brew as it’s own EP on iTunes digitally. We will begin to record our next full length album at the end of this month. We figured that doing this release now will give us a little room and space to release the full length album on our own terms as far as a timetable. It’s nice to be able to put something out and then put your head down to work on the next when the rest of the world is just starting to digest that release…..at least that is our plan.
How has social media changed the number of your followers? Do you think it has impacted your music sales?
Yes it completely has. Our last 3 albums have gone to the Top 50 Chart on iTunes Reggae. Our last album Home Brew went to #2 and it is directly because of Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter in that order. It has also changed the way in which we can tour and hit markets when we play out. Because of Facebook and Twitter we are able to pack in places consistently and keep our overhead lower. We don’t have to spend a whole lot of money on advertisements but we can still bring people into venues so it’s a definite win and something that has changed the way we do business for the better.
[Social media] has also changed the way in which we can tour and hit markets when we play out.
The writing community is full of wonderful, talented individuals. But the act of writing is a solitary career. How would your life be different as a solo musician? What has the band meant to you personally and professionally?
My life as a solo musician would be a completely new experience. I started music as part of a band and I have always been a part of a group. I learned guitar so that I could musically contribute to the group dynamic. For me, all I know about music is about being with a group of people that collaborate to create. I don’t know if I could be a “Solo Musician”. I think I need that group dynamic around me to feel comfortable with what I do. It’s easier to know your place, what to do. I know how I fit into the group and what my contributions must be. I’ve also been lucky, especially with the lineup now to be surrounded by some of the most talented people I’ve ever known, so I try and be like a sponge most of the time….musically speaking. A lot of my learning and growth as a musician and a songwriter is done like that. Soaking up a little of the sheer greatness that’s constantly moving around me. Besides the technical aspect of creating music with a group I will have to say that being in this band, and hopefully to anyone else that does what I do…being in a band is one of the greatest feelings you can know. You form a brothership and there is this sense of comradery that I can’t really explain and there’s is really nothing else like it…
Truth: Worst thing about being on tour.
Missing my wife and daughters.
Best thing about being on tour. And where was your favorite show played so far?
Creating experiences through music and getting to share those with my best friends. Also, the people we get to meet and some of the sights we get to see.
Favorite show: House of Blues Chicago with The Dirty Heads on St. Patrick’s Day (Sold Out)
What do you predict is next for the music industry? Any wishes for the next 10 years?
I don’t know what’s next for the music industry other than it’s going to change, and it’s going to happen quick.
I think that as far as format (Mp3 downloads on iTunes, etc) it will stay generally the way it is for a while but the delivery method is going to get crazy. So there, that is my prediction. Something huge is going to happen with the Delivery Format of music. Like we’ll get into our shower and the shower head is going to ask us if we want to download the latest Katy Perry Record or something, haha.
My wishes for the next 10 years is to be able to continue doing what I am doing and hopefully being able to grow it into something that me and the band can comfortably do full-time.
Andy, thank you again for contributing your thoughts on what it takes to stay competitive and smart in our industries! Social media is everywhere now, but you have to use it wisely to be successful, and TUGG is definitely exhibiting some smart business moves and growing a fan base from your interactions! Much success to all of you!
Got a question for TUGG? Share an opinion on social media? What’s your favorite medium? I think mine’s Twitter…which is funny cuz I can’t write short blog posts to save my life!
Happy Weekend Everyone! See you in the comments section!
Jess Witkins' Happiness Project 
[…] the Music Industry Can Teach Us About the Publishing World: Part 1 // Part 2 by Jess Witkins. Excellent, in-depth […]
I LOVE that idea of making one new friend at a new venue! It’s true that word of mouth is THE way to get music and books in the hands of more people. I am far more likely to read a book or listen to a song recommended by a friend than one simply advertised to me.
Love the music! And as you can see from my profile pic, I am going with the theme of Mustaches and the Meaning of Life! (Well, actually my faux mustache is for Movember, but it works for TUGG music too.)
LOL. Love the mustache, Julie!
And I think that’s a great plan too for making connections. Writing conferences are wonderful that way! And I’ve gotten great music recommendations from you since we roomed together! 😀
[…] win a FREE copy of the TUGG cd, Come Sunrise, by dropping a comment or tweeting this post about social media and the music industry! Go on, groove on […]
[…] posts I did with the lead singer, Andrew Hughes. Part 1 is about the changing music industry and Part 2 is about social media and the music business. Chime in! We’d love to hear your […]