If you are an independent musician and you have a hard time selling your music, if you have a hard time getting publicity, it is probably due to at least one of these three reasons:

Reason #1. Independent musicians have forgotten, or are unaware of the true value and power of music.
Independent musicians have to think more like entrepreneurs. Every successful entrepreneur asks themselves this question: What is the value of the work I do or the product I make? In other words, for your music, what problem does your music solve for my target audience? If you can answer that question, then you have the mind of a music entrepreneur.

The music industry has cheapened the value of music and reduced it to entertainment, to a catchy beat or hook, to packaging. These are all features and not benefits. All marketers know that in order to market your product effectively, you need to focus on the benefits your product brings to the consumer. You should not focus on features. The value of your product is not in the features but in the benefits. The value of your music is not in your hook or your rhythm but in how people receive your hook. It’s in how your hook/rhythm/lyric solves other people’s problems.

Music is more than entertainment for fans. It has more value and more power. When you, as an independent musician, begin to focus on the real value and power of your music, you will build a successful business model that allows you to connect with your fans and give them a reason to buy your music.

People don’t just want to be entertained. It’s true that people buy music to be entertained, but true entrepreneurs dig deep to uncover the real motivation behind why people buy music. Why do people want to have fun? Why do people want to be entertained with music? When you can answer those questions, you’ll know the value of music and you’ll be able to give people a reason to buy it.

So why do people listen to music? There are many reasons. One of the reasons is that people use entertainment as an outlet. People turn to music to take their minds off the struggles they face every day. It helps them deal with their struggles and problems. People listen to music when they are happy and when they are sad. Listening to music is an emotional experience for many people. People love the way it makes them feel. It has the power to change our mood. Music inspires, motivates. It is much more than entertainment and a catchy hook.

If you don’t understand the value your music has in the lives of fans, you will have a hard time marketing, promoting and selling your music. If you don’t know the problems and challenges that your fans have, then you are not a musical entrepreneur. If you don’t know the problem your music solves for these people, then you’re not a music entrepreneur. If you haven’t created music that solves their problems, then you’re not a music entrepreneur.

Reason #2. Independent Musicians Don’t Communicate the Real Value of Their Music This reason points to how musicians market and promote their music. In your marketing and promotion, you need to emphasize the value your music has to your fans. In other words, how does your music impact your fans? How are the lives of your fans transformed because they have listened to your music?

Reason #3. Independent musicians don’t deliver the value of their music to their fans. It’s about distribution, how your fans deliver, receive and experience your music. It’s about how your fans experience your brand. Did you deliver what you promised? If you promoted your show as the best live show in your city, was it the best live show your fans have ever experienced?