“David Usher Should Learn To Self-Promote,” or “How To Make Myspace Work For You”

I guess my posts come in threes.

After taking a break from an assignment to check out my trusty Google Reader, I came across Mitch Joel’s latest post in response to David Usher’s request for social networks to pay “royalty” money. To quote David, though for my own purposes:

“Are you kidding me.”

Messr. Usher, in his post, essentially refuted his own point:

“Artists signed and understood the terms when they joined Myspace or Bebo and they get to use this great network so they shouldn’t expect to be paid.”

He goes on to point out that artists:

“have been signing and getting screwed forever by the old model but that doesn’t mean they should, doesn’t mean its fair and it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t push for something better.”

Fair enough. I’ve argued for that already, and this blog hasn’t even been live for 24 hours. I disagree, though, with the part where he says that:

“Music is a big part of why social networks are so big and there is no reason artists shouldn’t get a piece for the traffic they drive.”

Argument #1: David is just plain wrong.

Social networks are big because people like to share things. Social networks are big because people like to connect with others. Social networks are not big because they offer the capacity to listen to music. That’s what Purevolume was for, that’s what certain torrent communities are for, but that’s not what Myspace was for, nor any of the major social networks today: while “Myspace Music” may have been around since the network’s inception, the first original artists to use it only popped up a few months later. “Bebo Music”, while pre-dating Myspace’s incarnation, was debuted a year and a half after Bebo’s launch. Further, Facebook didn’t even have music capabilities until very recently.

Argument #2: Artists choose to upload their material.

Michael Arrington, cited in Usher’s own blog post, points out that:

“music was uploaded to the site by artists (or their labels) themselves, with full knowledge that they would not receive payments of any kind”

To take this idea one step further: nothing is forcing these musicians to upload their materials. David Usher, if he disagrees, could simply not upload his music. The page is still there, for free, with all of the promotional photos, copy, and blogs that you can cram in there. The reason artists do upload their material, however, is because of the promotion that these sites allow them. By giving listeners the chance to experience their music, to get a taste of what they have to offer, and to hopefully keep them coming back for more, however, these artists decide to show the masses what they’ve got.

The best part is, social networks’ music players tend not to allow the user to download a song unless explicit permission is given by the artist. That means that the only way to hear David Usher’s — or anyone else’s, for that matter — material for free is to expose yourself to all things David Usher. I think that’s a fair trade, don’t you?

Argument #3: I Have A Solution.

David, Billy, and everyone else in your camp on this one, hear me out. Here’s what you need to do:

Take the fans away from your Myspace, Bebo, or other social network accounts.

You may be asking yourself: “How do I do that, Aidan? Myspace is such a juggernaut, and I am a poor, exploited artist!” The answer is:

Tease them. Give them enough to develop a taste for who you are, to cultivate a connection with your “personal brand” of music, if you will. And then bring them to the sell.

This takes advantage of some of the most influential marketing and sales theories around: Permission Marketing; Brand Conversation; and The Long Tail. Permission marketing is being employed, because they are openly asking you to market to them; network users are flocking to your page to hear about you. You can then use your page to develop your personal brand and start a conversation, and to hook the users into an emotion-laden relationship with you. And once you have them hooked, you are no longer one of the millions of artists they could otherwise be listening to; you’re a special minority that makes them want to buy into you.

Simply put: turn your social network page into a means to buy from you, not an end.

Once you do it, though, I’m expecting a cut of your profits.

(Thanks, Mitch, for pointing this out and getting me enraged enough to take an extended study-break to write this.)